Take a Ride With Me
by starzee
Summary: "I came to see how you'd feel about being used for some 'I hope Tyler Lockwood dies a horrible brutal death' sex."
1. Chapter 1

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

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><p><strong>AN: This story doesn't really follow my usual pattern so the time line is a little jumpy - advance warning.**

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><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 1

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><p>Tyler slept with Rebekah. Caroline hated him. So she dumped his ass, got ridiculously drunk and thought of the perfect payback.<p>

Damon was lying on his bed with a bottle of whiskey watching some nineties action movie. He wasn't really paying attention to it. He was too busy thinking about how he planned to get Stefan back from his emotionless abyss and he was actually surprised when his bedroom door opened. Even more surprised when he saw Caroline standing there. She was obviously drunk but she looked really hot. He was drunk too to be fair.

"What's up, Blondie?" He asked curiously as she never came to see him unless she absolutely had to.

"You know when I was human you used me for sex and a walking blood bag?" She asked drunkenly and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Did you come to yell at me or something?" He asked sceptically.

"No, I came to see how you'd feel about being used for some 'I hope Tyler Lockwood dies a horrible brutal death' sex." She said and he burst into a chuckle at that. He hadn't been expecting that reply.

"Is that different from regular sex?" He asked amused and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it's angry and rough." She replied and he smirked at that. Like any guy in the world was going to say no to that, he thought.

"Works for me." He replied.

"Good." She said then let herself into his room, closed and locked the door behind her then walked in. She kicked her shoes off and dumped her bag and jacket on the floor then climbed up on the bed.

"Why do you now hope Lockwood dies?" He asked curiously.

"He slept with Rebekah." She replied and Damon looked surprised.

"And you came to me because?" He asked.

"Because he hates you more than anyone else on the planet and that'll be worse than the really hard kick in the balls I gave him earlier." She said and he laughed. Revenge sex. He was highly amused by that. Especially that she'd been so blunt about her reason.

"Fair enough." He smirked. "You look hot, by the way." He commented and she looked surprised.

"Thanks. Now can you get to it?" She asked and he laughed at that. He reached over and grabbed her by the hips and placed her on top of him then hitched his fingers under the hem of her dress and yanked it up over her head leaving her in just her bra and underwear and he tossed the dress on the floor. He flipped their positions in a flash then he kissed her. She kissed him back just as fiercely and his hands roamed her body. "Do you care about this shirt?" She asked him and he smirked.

"No." He said then she ripped it open and the buttons flew everywhere. He thought that was hot. She got it off him and he noticed she definitely was _not_ being gentle. Worked for him. He knew she kept some clothes at the boarding house so he figured two could play at that game. One hand went to her bra and the other went to her underwear and he literally tore them off and he saw her face change as soon as he did that. He smirked then knowing she thought that was hot. He ran his thumb under her eye across the dark veins. "Now that's hot." He said just as he plunged his finger inside her and she moaned a little at that. He thrust in and out and massaged his thumb over her clit and she bit her lip which drew blood since her fangs were out. Damon licked the droplet off her lower lip and his own face changed. He scraped his fangs down her neck but not hard enough to pierce the skin.

Caroline unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans then Damon kicked them and his boxers off leaving them both naked as he continued to play with her with his fingers. Caroline stroked him then and he groaned and bit into her shoulder which elicited a gasp but he heard it wasn't from pain. Now that she was a vampire she liked it. He wasn't surprised when she bit him back. He thrust into her just as she did and she moaned against his skin. He grabbed her hips and slammed into her. Every time he thrust she moved her hips to slam back and he was seeing stars each time. She scraped her nails down his back which made him shudder and he only thrust harder and faster. Then they were kissing again. They could taste their own blood on the other's lips and they both found that hot.

Caroline couldn't _believe_ how incredible this was. She wasn't thinking about Tyler at all. She was thinking about how she'd managed to go this long as a vampire _without _finding an excuse to fuck Damon. Damon was thinking how amazing it was not having to concentrate on not breaking who he was fucking. He didn't have to hold back with his strength or speed. He had to admit the little vampire was amazing in bed.

He sat up on his knees and pulled her up with him so she was in his lap. She held onto him since she was at an angle and wrapped her legs around him and locked her ankles. He held her waist and slammed her up and down at vampire speed and Caroline was sure she might explode with pleasure. She started flexing her muscles around him at the same speed he was going and Damon sputtered at the _incredible_ feeling. Internally Caroline loved that she did that to him. She made Damon come undone.

He kept hitting her spot over and over at lightning speed and she was quite sure she was going to die when her orgasm finally hit her. She shook then her whole body just relaxed for a second before it hit her and she couldn't help it so she bit his neck. That was all it took for Damon because being bitten was _so_ hot. He bit her back and the two of them writhed and moaned then Damon collapsed on top of her on the bed and they panted unnecessary breath. He rolled over to her side a few moments later.

"Wow that was amazing." Caroline admitted though she kind of wished she hadn't said that to _him_ of all people.

"Possibly my best ever." Damon said shocked and Caroline was sure if she hadn't been lying down she would have fallen over in shock at him saying that. It _had_ been her best ever and she was sure Damon knew that. Damon had no idea why he'd said that out loud.

"Why haven't we done that already?" Caroline asked confused and he chuckled.

"You hate me, that's why." He smirked.

"I don't _hate_ you." She replied.

"Good, so round two?" He asked and she looked at him surprised.

"You can go again already?" She asked and he chuckled.

"Vampire, Caroline. Vampires can literally have sex all day." He said and she grinned at the thought.

"Then yeah, round two." She agreed and he rolled back on top of her with a smirk.

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><p>Caroline woke up in the morning and her hand instantly went to her head and she groaned in pain. Hangover. She needed to go get some blood. She opened one eye and noticed Damon was sitting next to where she lay in his bed. He was propped up against the headboard sipping on some blood watching the news quietly.<p>

"Breakfast?" He asked holding up a blood bag and she was surprised that he'd gotten her one too. She sat up then.

"Thanks." She said taking it from him. She opened it and sipped a little and soon her headache vanished. "Best hangover cure ever." She mumbled and Damon chuckled.

"Mmhmm." He nodded in agreement. "By the way, Tyler's killing people." Damon said and Caroline's jaw dropped.

"What?" She asked shocked and he nodded.

"Stefan found some dead bodies in the woods with the four fang marks that his teeth make and considering Klaus has been gone for like three weeks, it only leaves him." Damon said.

"How many bodies?" She asked.

"There was a pile up deep in the woods. Stefan said there were seven ranging from about two weeks ago until about yesterday." Damon said as he sipped.

"Why though? He said he was drinking out of blood bags." She said confused.

"I'm actually _not_ trying to be a dick by saying this but that'll be Rebekah's influence. Klaus _wants_ Tyler to kill." Damon replied.

"What can we do?" She asked.

"Nothing." Damon shrugged.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"It's not like he's going to listen to _me_ since he's been sired and if I kill Klaus' first hybrid then Klaus will no doubt slaughter all of us, if I lock him up then Rebekah will just let him out so nothing can be done at the moment." He said. They were the only two in the house so he wasn't worried about anyone hearing what he said.

"Won't my mom find out?" Caroline asked worriedly and Damon sighed.

"The council wouldn't be _able_ to kill him considering a stake won't work." He said and Caroline's jaw dropped.

"Then how do hybrids die?" Caroline asked.

"Removing the head or heart." Damon replied. "Besides, I already talked to your mother about him."

"When?" Caroline asked surprised.

"After we found out he'd been sired. I told Liz that Tyler is Klaus' hybrid and we have no way to stop Klaus so regardless what Tyler does, he's untouchable at the moment." Damon muttered.

"This is bad." Caroline said and Damon nodded.

"Very." He agreed. "God, I hate this town." He sighed and she chuckled.

"Yeah, me too." She said. Damon turned to look at Caroline full on then.

"If he bites you, you need to bite him back immediately." Damon said to her seriously and she looked surprised considering he was obviously concerned for her.

"Will his blood work as a cure?" She asked and he nodded. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear then since he heard someone on the driveway.

"Klaus' blood makes vampires permanently immune to werewolf bites. Tyler's is still the cure but that just heals the damage but doesn't make it permanent." He whispered and Caroline understood that he was trusting her with that. She wouldn't repeat it.

"I'll remember that." She replied and he smirked.

"Good." He nodded. "By the way, I brought in that little overnight bag you keep in the room down the hall since I destroyed your clothes." He said amused and she chuckled.

"Thanks." She said. She noticed he didn't say it in a way that indicated he wanted her to leave. She was surprised at that. That in sobriety he wouldn't just boot her out. She finished her blood bag and noticed that Damon had already finished his.

"Do you want the bag or do you want to go again considering you're still nice and naked under there?" He smirked and she laughed.

"Might as well." She shrugged and she was surprised at how pleased he looked at that. Before she could register she was on her back and he was on top of her and they were kissing. He kissed down her body and disappeared under the covers and spread her legs. He flicked his tongue against her clit and she gasped at the sensation. She had no idea how she ended up doing this sober but she wasn't complaining. They'd already had sex three times the night before so she didn't see what harm a fourth would do. He swirled his tongue and finger fucked her and it wasn't long until she was close. Her orgasm built and she was surprised that just as she was getting close, Damon swapped his tongue for his thumb but her legs shook and just before she came, Damon bit into her thigh and she had to slap her hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream out at how fucking amazing that felt just as she orgasmed. He rode it out for her then he climbed back up her body and slammed his cock into her which had her biting her lip again so she wouldn't call out. She wasn't vocal in bed normally but with Damon the sensations were maximised so it made it difficult to _not_ call out.

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><p>Five days later, Damon was at the Grill. He was sitting at the bar having a quiet drink when he heard that <em>irritating <em>laugh that only Rebekah could make. He glanced around the Grill and noticed Rebekah and Tyler playing pool. He also noticed Bonnie, Elena and Caroline in a booth and Caroline looked miserable. Damon was _seriously_ irritated with Rebekah and he already hated the wolf so he had an idea. He wasn't sure Blondie would go for it since her friends were right there but what the hell. It was worth a try. He was really horny anyway and he knew from the four times they'd done it that he couldn't get better sex than her. He got his phone out and sent her a text.

Caroline felt her phone vibrate and she opened her text. She was kind of shocked but she was kind of amused too.

_Feel like getting a little payback on them with round 5 in the bathroom?_

Caroline didn't bother replying since she knew he'd hear her anyway.

"I'll be back." She said to the girls. Damon smirked knowing she was agreeing.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked surprised.

"Just to freshen up." Caroline shrugged then stood up and went into the girls' disabled bathroom. Damon followed her about a minute later and nobody noticed. He heard that she was in the disabled bathroom and he smirked at that considering the other ones didn't have locks. He let himself in then locked the door. Without a word they were kissing. He was pleased she was wearing a skirt. He unbuckled his belt as they kissed then pulled his jeans and boxers down and in one quick move he hiked up her legs around him. He pushed her underwear to the side then slammed into her and she moaned into his mouth at the sensation.

They were in the bathroom for about fifteen minutes for their quickie and Damon went back to the bar first. He happened to notice Tyler's face and he looked _furious_. Damon was highly amused by that considering how _loud _the two of them had been since it was amazing again. Caroline fixed herself then went back out to the booth. She noticed Tyler was livid and she found that funny. _Fuck you, Lockwood_, she thought to herself. She retook her seat and Bonnie and Elena looked at her curiously. Her cheeks were flushed and her gloomy mood was now replaced by a happy one.

"What happened? You were gone for ages." Bonnie said confused and Caroline shrugged.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked concerned.

"Did you bump into someone?" Bonnie asked and Caroline giggled. _Yes, she did_.

"Calm down, I was only in the bathroom. You're acting like I got laid or something." She said amused and the girls laughed. Damon shot her a smirk for that one. Something Tyler did _not_ miss.

"The Grill's just not that exciting." Bonnie said and Caroline laughed. _She now disagreed_.

"I don't think I could do something like that. I'd be too nervous that I'd get caught." Elena said and Caroline smirked. She kind of couldn't believe that she'd just done it either. Damon heard Elena say that and he just thought she was _so_ boring – wait, did he just think that?

"Wouldn't that be half the fun?" Caroline asked amused. Damon tried not to chuckle at that.

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><p>Damon found a random human and signed the boarding house over to them then had them write a written invitation for him, Stefan and Caroline to get in. He was fed up with Rebekah. She was <em>furious<em> when she couldn't get in and he slammed the door in her face but she just went and stayed with Tyler instead. Caroline laughed when Damon told her the next time he saw her though internally she was kind of touched that he'd thought to add her invitation in too. It was four days after their little meeting in the Grill. There was a town event at city hall and Tyler was introducing Rebekah to everyone as his girlfriend. Caroline was pissed so she pushed Damon into the janitor's closet and the two of them went at it again. Round 6. Tyler had heard them and he was _beyond _furious. Later in the evening, Caroline was standing talking to Amber Fell when Tyler grabbed her by the arm and towed her away around a corner.

"What the hell are you doing?" He hissed at her.

"Well I _was_ talking to Amber but apparently you didn't notice that." She shot him an annoyed look.

"I _meant_ why the hell are you sleeping with Damon?" He asked her angrily and she smirked.

"Because Damon is the best sex I will probably ever have." Caroline replied bluntly. Neither knew that both Damon and Rebekah had heard that.

"Better than _me_?" Tyler asked shocked and Caroline giggled.

"There's no comparison. You're like a little tiny pony and he rides like a stallion." Caroline smirked and Tyler scowled at her. Rebekah found herself _very_ intrigued since she thought Tyler had been amazing in bed. Damon was really flattered by what she said and he was shocked that she was sticking up for him. And shocked that she found him that good in bed. Though to be fair, the sex they had was the best ever for him so in all honesty, she was just as amazing.

"That was a bitchy thing to say." Tyler retorted and she shrugged.

"It's not bitchy if it's true." Caroline pointed out then walked away from him. She now totally hated Tyler so she didn't care if he thought she was bitchy.

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><p>Caroline was on her way to the boarding house two days later and from a distance she could hear Damon and Rebekah talking. She soon saw them but they didn't see her. Rebekah pinned Damon to the wall and Caroline was surprised that he didn't look remotely afraid, just bored. Caroline watched as Rebekah leaned up and tried to kiss him and he turned his head away.<p>

"This is pathetic, you know that?" Damon asked her.

"I heard that you're amazing in bed and I want to try you out." She pouted and he chuckled.

"Good for you. Not going to happen." He replied curtly and to say the least Caroline was kind of shocked. Rebekah had her hands against his chest as she tried to turn him on. Caroline was sure that's that she was doing anyway.

"But why?" She asked sadly like she just didn't understand.

"I'm not into Tyler Lockwood's leftovers." He said with a smirk and she looked at him like he was stupid.

"Yet you're shagging Caroline." She replied and Damon shot her a look.

"_Caroline_ is not leftovers." Damon defended and Caroline was stunned that he would defend her. "Besides, she was mine once way before she decided to give that half-breed a shot." He said. Caroline wasn't really sure how to feel about that but it was Damon so it was _probably_ the closest she'd get to some kind of compliment.

"I've been told by lots of guys that I'm really hot." She said annoyed.

"Then go fuck them." Damon retorted.

"I could just compel you." She replied and Damon laughed. Caroline was disgusted by Rebekah right then.

"You're joking right?" Damon asked her amused as he shoved her away and crossed his arms over his chest. "That is beyond pathetic."

"Why?" She asked.

"That's practically rape you crazy bitch." He said surprising Caroline, though she agreed.

"You've never done that?" Rebekah asked confused.

"No and I never will. It's one thing feeding on a human against their will but _that_ is just a line I won't ever cross. But you? Go back to your half breed and leave me the fuck alone." Damon glared at her as he walked past her and went to the door.

"Wait." She said and he turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I'd compel you." She said biting her lip and Damon shrugged.

"I drink vervain. You wouldn't have been able to do it anyway." He said and Rebekah's jaw dropped as he walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him. Internally, Caroline was _so_ happy that he'd turned Rebekah down. She watched Rebekah stomp her foot like a spoiled brat then she sped away in the opposite direction. Caroline made her way down to the boarding house and let herself inside. She noticed Damon pouring himself a drink and he looked up at her. "Did you see Rebekah?" He asked annoyed and Caroline shook her head.

"No, why?" Caroline asked. She decided to play dumb. He sighed in relief that she was obviously gone.

"She's decided that she wants to 'try me out'." Damon replied with a scowl at nothing in particular and Caroline cocked an eyebrow at him in question. "She wants to have sex with me apparently." He muttered as he drank down half of his drink in one gulp.

"And you said no?" She asked surprised and he smirked.

"Obviously." He replied.

"Why's that?" She asked curiously.

"She doesn't do it for me." He replied and Caroline smiled a little smugly considering she was there because he'd texted her. He didn't notice her expression though which she was thankful for considering she knew it was kind of juvenile wanting to one-up Rebekah. "Anyway, shall we?" He asked pointing to the stairs.

"Mmhmm." Caroline nodded then just walked up the stairs to his room. She just about had time to get her shoes and coat off when she found herself pinned to the bed and they were kissing and pulling at each other's clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

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><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 2

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><p>Three days later, Caroline was bored and kind of drunk and she had nothing else to do so she text Damon to see if he was up for round 10. She realised it had been two weeks since they first slept together and she was kind of shocked that they'd had sex nine times. Not that she was complaining. It was great because she never felt sexually frustrated at all anymore. He replied that she should come over then so she left her house and made her way over. Stefan was having a sorority girl party in the living room and she could see a body behind the couch which kind of unnerved her but she hurried upstairs and she hoped he hadn't noticed her because Ripper Stefan freaked her out. She walked right into Damon's room and he was on his bed under the covers watching a movie. She locked the door behind her.<p>

"Hey." She said and he smirked at her.

"Evening." He replied.

"There's a dead girl behind your couch downstairs." Caroline told him and he scowled.

"I don't care if he kills people to be honest. I just wish he wouldn't litter the fucking living room with bodies." Damon muttered. "It's nearly every God damn day." He said and Caroline looked surprised.

"Elena said that Klaus compelled him to turn it off." Caroline said and Damon nodded. "Did he compel him to keep it off?" She asked and Damon looked at her a little wide eyed. He hadn't even considered that.

"You're a little bit of a genius, Blondie." He grinned at her and she laughed. She kicked off her shoes and dumped her jacket on the floor then went over and climbed under the covers.

"Your past self would disagree with you." She pointed out amused and he shrugged.

"My past self was wrong." He replied and she looked a little surprised but she smiled anyway. Then she noticed he was watching RED and she giggled.

"I love this movie." She said and Damon looked at her in surprise. He'd only gotten to the part where Sarah figured out that Frank could speak Chinese so they weren't far along.

"You do?" He asked confused and she nodded.

"One of the funniest movies ever. John Malkovich's character is _hilarious_." She said.

"I haven't seen it before." He said and she looked at him like he was insane.

"Well you have to watch it." She said then she got herself comfortable and watched the screen. He chuckled at that.

"I thought you wanted round 10?" He asked amused and she nodded.

"I do. I can wait until the movie's done." She said and he laughed.

"Fair enough." He smirked.

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><p>A short while later the line in the film went:<p>

_John Malkovich: The last time we met, I tried to kill you._

_Bruce Willis: That was a long time ago._

_John Malkovich: Some people hold on to things like that._

"That line reminds me of you." Caroline said amused and Damon laughed.

"Why?" He asked amused.

"It just seems like something you would say." She replied and he chuckled.

"Probably." He smirked. Then came the part where the camera moved out and showed the dagger pressed up against Bruce Willis' balls and the two of them laughed loudly at that.

Damon was shocked at how much he was enjoying the little blonde's company. He couldn't remember the last time he even watched a movie with someone let alone like this. He liked it. That surprised him.

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><p>The two of them laughed practically the whole film. Damon agreed with her that it was one of the funniest movies ever. Caroline noticed another DVD sitting next to the player and she was curious.<p>

"What's that movie?" She asked pointing to it and Damon followed her eye line.

"I was going to watch that after RED. It's The Big Lebowski." He replied.

"Never seen it." She replied and he snapped his head to her and gave her a look of disbelief.

"What?" He asked shocked and she giggled. "You have to watch it. That's a requirement for everyone." He said and she laughed.

"Well how about round 10 then the movie?" She smirked and he chuckled. He found he quite liked that idea.

"Works for me." He replied then she rolled on top of him and kissed him.

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><p>Three weeks later, Damon was sitting in the Grill staring into his drink in confusion. For the last two weeks, he'd slept with Caroline every day. The week before that was every other day. He didn't know what was happening. What were they at now? Oh yeah. Round 45.<p>

Since they watched RED together, they practically watched a movie together every time she came over. Sometimes more than one. There was even a night where she came over and they _didn't_ have sex – sure they made up for it in the morning – but that wasn't the point. Damon didn't know how this went from meaningless sex to _cuddling_. When they lay watching a movie, she lay on his shoulder and he had his arm underneath her and held her to him. At the time he hadn't really thought about it because it just kind of felt natural but now that he was sitting thinking over everything, he didn't know what he was thinking or feeling about it all. He loved Elena... didn't he?

He'd hardly seen the brunette. He hadn't gone out of his way to see her either. He hadn't been to her house. He'd been out when she came to see him. For the past three weeks since the first movie with Caroline... Elena had been taking a backseat in his thoughts. He didn't even really _want _to see Elena anymore. He found that he _wanted _to see Caroline. He _wanted_ to talk to her. He _wanted_ to spend time with her. And obviously he still wanted to have sex with her because it only got _better _which he couldn't believe since the first time with her was his best. But each time was his new best. Rebekah had tried again a couple of times and he had zero interest in her which was weird because she _was _really hot. He hadn't slept with anyone else since that first night Caroline turned up in his room...

The weirdest thing for him was a few days before, Elena had come into the Grill and he'd immediately looked _past_ her to see if Caroline was with her.

"Fuck." He said as the realisation set in that he had a serious thing for Blondie.

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><p>That night he was in his bed lying on his back staring into space. His door opened and he looked up to see Caroline casually sauntering into his room.<p>

"Hey, you busy?" She smirked. She could clearly see that he wasn't and he smirked back.

"Yes, extremely." He said. "The ceiling is fascinating." He added and she giggled and closed the door and locked it as always. She kicked off her shoes and took off her jacket and dumped it on the floor as always then she crawled up the bed and lay on her stomach leaning on her elbow with her cheek in her hand next to Damon. "What?" He asked her curiously when she didn't say anything.

"You said the ceiling was fascinating so I'm waiting until it bores you." She teased and he laughed at her being random. He felt kind of awkward. He now knew that their little arrangement meant something to him and he didn't know if it was the same for her or not so he was kind of unsure how to act as he hadn't been thinking about it before. He kind of wanted to test it so he'd thought of something that was different than what they'd been doing. Something he knew she wanted to do. "What's up? You're being weird." She said then he looked at her. Into her eyes. He had planned to suggest some kind of date-like thing but instead he blurted out what he'd been thinking.

"Is this still about Tyler?" He asked and he wanted to kick himself because his tone came out all soft instead of casual like he couldn't give a fuck. Instead he sounded like an insecure idiot. Great, he thought. She gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"When you came up here that first time, you did it to get back at Tyler." He said and she was kind of shocked internally that _he_ was the one bringing up the awkward 'talk' they needed to have.

"Don't you think five weeks and like 45 rounds is kind of overkill for revenge?" She asked trying to keep the tone of the conversation from getting too serious. Damon didn't reply. He just stared at her. "No, it's not about Tyler." She admitted when she saw he wasn't going to say anything else. Internally, Damon was really happy about that – until he realised that just because it wasn't about Tyler, didn't mean she wanted _him_. Caroline saw his expression change from pleased to brooding in seconds and she was kind of amused. He and Stefan had clearly switched places since Stefan was downstairs with three girls and Damon was lying on his bed brooding. "Damon, what's going on?" She asked softly and he could see that she was concerned but he wasn't one to open up in general so why would he start now?

"Nothing. Sex? Movie?" He asked her trying to put his casual facade back on. Caroline practically saw the walls being built back up and she had to stop it so she rolled on top of him and locked his arms above his head. He _could_ get out of it if he wanted to but she was determined to make him talk to her.

"Damon." She said to him seriously.

"What?" He asked curiously like it was normal to have your hands pinned above your head.

"What is this?" She asked him motioning between them. She saw a little bit of confusion flit across his face.

"What is what?" He asked and she rolled her eyes. She was going to have to try a different tactic. He saw an amused look flash on her face then she sat up.

"Never mind. Sex it is." She said then ripped his shirt open and she felt him harden at the action. Caroline crawled down his body and unbuttoned his jeans as he watched her. She yanked them off then his boxers. She manoeuvred herself so the she was lying on her side flush against his side and she started to kiss his neck. Her fingertips danced across the skin of his chest and moved slowly but surely downwards. Her fingernails scraped along the skin on his hips and he groaned in anticipation – that never came. She bypassed his cock altogether and touched his thighs and scratched his skin and Damon kind of _needed_ friction on his cock. All the teasing was too much. She kept licking and sucking at his neck and her face changed. One finger moved to the base of his cock and Damon was practically shaking with need at this point. She let her finger run up his shaft painfully slowly and just as she got to the most sensitive point, she let her fangs pierce his skin and he groaned at the sensation. He wasn't used to just lying there and having stuff done to him but Caroline seemed quite adamant with whatever it was she was doing. Her finger lightly traced the tip of his cock and she could feel him shuddering. He _needed _it. She smirked against his skin then pulled away from the bite and licked her lips.

She climbed back on top of him and he looked up at her vampire face and she saw that he looked at her differently than he used to. That had her curious. More so than before. She kissed him softly and just as he went to deepen it she pulled away with a smirk.

"Tease." He mumbled and she smiled. She crawled back down him slowly and she licked and sucked and playfully bit his neck, chest, stomach, hips. She knew he'd cave soon since she could see in his eyes that he was considering just grabbing her and slamming into her already but she wasn't going to allow that. She moved down between his legs and he watched through hooded lids. With all the teasing she knew it wouldn't take much when she finally got him off. She kissed down his thigh then bit down just at the exact moment she cupped his balls and he groaned again. "You're evil." He muttered under his breath and she giggled against his skin. She didn't drink much. Just enough to make him continue his trek down to going to mush. She continued to massage his balls with one hand then moved her face up to his cock and flicked the tip with her tongue. "What the hell are you doing to me?" He muttered again and she smirked.

"What do you want?" She asked him amused and he scowled at her.

"You know what I want." He said back though his voice was uneven from the pure need he felt. His cock was now throbbing for attention. So much so she saw him move his hand towards himself just for some relief but she slapped it away. She went back to licking and sucking on his hip bone while her hand lazily teased his balls and every once in a while her fingers would trail up his shaft but not enough for him to get _any_ relief.

"What were you going to tell me before?" She asked absently.

"Huh?" He asked confused.

"When you asked if this was about Tyler?" She asked then ran a finger up his shaft eliciting a gasp from him. Damon clicked then. She was _seducing_ it out of him... The clever little minx. He kind of hated and adored her all at once in that moment. His brain wasn't working so he couldn't really comprehend what he did and didn't want her to know at that moment. "You'll get what you want if you tell me." She sing-songed against his skin and before he could say anything else in one quick move she swallowed down his cock, bobbed for a few seconds then went back to his hip. His jaw dropped at that.

"You're mean." He blurted and she giggled.

"Tell me and I won't stop again." She said against his hip then she bit down again and he groaned again at the feeling.

"Fine,Ilikeyou. Canyougetmeoffalready?" He said in one word while she still had her fangs in his hip. Internally she was shocked at that but she _did_ say that she would give him what he wanted. She pulled her fangs out of his hip then allowed her face to go back to normal and as soon as it had, she wrapped her mouth around his cock and swirled her tongue. Damon moaned in satisfaction at _finally _getting some friction. She went faster and faster until she was bobbing at vampire speed and Damon sputtered as his mind went blank at the pleasure overload. His legs shook and she knew he was close so she held up her wrist to him and he grabbed her hand then sunk his fangs into her wrist just as she added a circular twist to her tongue movements that he was certain drove him _mad_. He came forcefully and he was glad her wrist was in his mouth because he was sure he would have screamed the house down. She rode it out for him and swallowed him down then he closed his eyes as he was certain his body had stopped working altogether. She saw his worn out expression and it amused her. She climbed back up to lie beside him on her stomach as she leaned on one elbow to look at him. After about a minute he opened one eye and saw her watching him amused.

"I can't believe you did that." Damon mumbled and she laughed. She leaned down and put a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You had a good orgasm though. Wasn't that worth it?" She asked with a smile.

"How'd you know it was good?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and she smirked.

"We've slept together like 40 times in the last month. I know the difference between your orgasms now." She said amused and he looked at her surprised.

"How?" He asked.

"How hard you bite me. I probably do the same thing though. The better it is, the harder the bite." She smirked. "And I'm pretty sure you bit my bone this time." She giggled. She was surprised when she saw a flash of worry cross his face.

"Sorry." He said to her and she looked at him confused.

"For what?" She asked and he saw that she didn't understand.

"For biting so hard." He said and she chuckled.

"It doesn't bother me. I wasn't saying it to make you feel bad. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." She said.

"You know... you're the only girl that's ever managed to get me off through head." He said and she looked shocked.

"_Ever_?" She asked in disbelief and he nodded. "Is that why you never ask for it?" She asked and he nodded again.

"I don't see the point normally." He said.

"Well, I'll do it whenever you want. I like it." She said honestly and he looked _very _surprised.

"You do?" He asked shocked and she nodded.

"Yep... well, with you I like it." She corrected. "So am I going to always have to get things out of you like that or are you going to talk now?" She asked and he chuckled at her devious little expression.

"I'm listening." He said and she understood that he wanted _her_ to talk since he'd already blurted out what he was thinking.

"Honestly, I forgot all about Tyler about five minutes into round one. I was still pissed at him for a little while but he hasn't crossed my mind unless I see him or someone talks about him since we watched RED together." She said and he stared at her as he thought about that.

"So is this like a fuck buddy thing for you or are we like... uh..." He trailed off unsure of what the term was.

"Seeing each other?" She asked and he nodded. "Well, it's not a fuck buddy thing for me because I like you too." She said.

"Okay... so... do you want to go on like a... date?" He asked and she couldn't help a laugh at how he said that. It was like it was a foreign concept to him. As if it was the strangest thing he'd ever said.

"If you want." She shrugged. "We don't need to call it a date though. Why don't we just keep hanging out and see what happens? Neither of us is exactly an expert at the feelings and the dating thing." She pointed out and he chuckled.

"True." He agreed. "Does anyone know?" He asked.

"Tyler didn't tell anyone surprisingly. Honestly, I haven't seen too much of Bonnie and Elena and if they know they haven't said anything. Stefan must know." She said and Damon nodded.

"He does. He just doesn't care." Damon replied with a shrug.

"Do you want to keep it under wraps?" She asked.

"Not really. A tiny part yes, just because I think Bonnie will set me on fire but other than that no." He said and Caroline smiled.

"Bonnie won't set you on fire. It's none of her business. She can't say anything anyway considering she's dating a sixteen year old." Caroline said and Damon chuckled.

"I know it's been months but that is _still_ weird." He smirked and she laughed.

"Yeah, it is." She agreed.

"You're far too overdressed considering I'm only wearing a ripped shirt." He said and she laughed.

"Then do something about it." She replied and he smirked then pinned her to the bed and did.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 3

* * *

><p>The following morning, Damon handed Caroline a little glass bottle and she looked at him curiously.<p>

"What's this for?" She asked confused as she could see there was blood inside.

"The rest of Klaus' blood." Damon replied and she looked surprised.

"And... why are you showing me this?" She asked sceptically and he smirked.

"Drink it." He replied and internally she was shocked.

"Why?" She asked confused and he sighed.

"Because then you'll be immune forever." Damon replied. She melted a little at his obvious concern for her.

"Isn't it a waste to drink it with no bite?" She asked and he chuckled.

"It would be better if you didn't die, Caroline." He said.

"What about Stefan?" She asked.

"I think he's already had Klaus' blood." Damon replied and she nodded. She opened the bottle and drank it down then replaced the bottle stopper. The blood tasted kind of weird but she licked her lips anyway. Damon was watching her intently so she leaned up and kissed him. He kissed her back immediately.

"Thank you." She said when she pulled away and he shrugged.

"Couldn't have anyone else drinking it." He smirked and she smiled. She was kind of _really_ shocked considering... If Elena ever turned into a vampire, it wouldn't be there for her to drink. That and obviously, he didn't want her drinking Tyler's blood if he ever bit her.

* * *

><p>About five weeks later, Damon was about to go into the Grill when he spotted Caroline sitting in a booth with Bonnie and Elena. He was amused and didn't bother going in and instead sent her a text.<p>

Caroline was sitting chatting to her two friends when her phone buzzed with a text.

_Round 119 in the alley?_

She chuckled at that.

"I'll be right back." Caroline said as she put her phone back in her bag.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Uh... my mom's outside and wants to talk to me. I'll just be a few minutes." Caroline said then bolted out the door of the Grill.

"She totally lied." Elena said to Bonnie shocked. Caroline _never_ lied.

"Want to follow her?" Bonnie smirked.

* * *

><p>Caroline walked down the alley and found herself pinned to the wall. It was half way down so nobody would see them from the street. He crashed his lips to hers and she scrambled to get his jacket off and it dropped to the ground. He got her jacket off too and it landed next to his. She had a tendency now to always wear a dress or a skirt because it was easy access and <em>way<em> more fun that way. Damon was wearing a black short sleeve t-shirt and Caroline's hands wandered underneath it as they kissed. He hiked her legs up though neither of them had undressed any further. They kissed passionately and Damon's lower back was showing considering Caroline had her hands up his shirt and was scratching down his back eliciting a groan from him. He kissed down her cheek to her neck and sunk his fangs in gently and drank from her and she moaned a little at the sensation. She allowed her own face to change and she bit him back.

"Damon?" They heard Elena exclaim and Damon huffed against her neck then let his fangs leave her skin as he put her legs back on the ground. The way the light in the alley shone, Bonnie and Elena could see Damon but not Caroline. Damon looked up at them and they saw the blood on his mouth.

"What?" He asked them annoyed. "I'm busy." He added and Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're getting laid in an alley?" Elena asked him in disbelief and he shrugged.

"So what? Can you go away now so I can _finish_ getting laid in an alley?" He asked them both annoyed.

"You were feeding." Bonnie said deadpan. Caroline saw that Bonnie was about to retaliate so she stepped out into the light and both Elena and Bonnie's jaws dropped.

"Caroline?" Elena asked wide eyed in disbelief. She looked truly horrified at the thought. They noticed then that Damon had blood on his neck and there was a little on Caroline's lips so clearly she'd bitten him back.

"Uh... what are you guys doing out here? I said I'd be back in a few minutes." She said and Damon shot her a look.

"Minutes? You're joking right?" He asked her and she couldn't help a little giggle.

"Not the time to argue about your stamina, Damon." Caroline said to him amused and he smirked at her.

"You said you were going to talk to your mom." Bonnie pointed out.

"So you were spying on me?" Caroline asked annoyed.

"You lied." Bonnie replied.

"I lied and you were spying. Doesn't make you better than me." Caroline pointed out and Bonnie and Elena shot her annoyed looks.

"Explain this." Elena motioned between them and Damon shot her a glare for that but Caroline found it highly amusing.

"What are you? Our mother? We don't have to explain anything to you." Caroline said and Damon couldn't help a chuckle at that. Elena looked furious at that comment.

"Oh. My. God." Bonnie said shocked. "That time... you joked about it... you really _did _get laid in the bathroom, didn't you?" She asked and both Damon and Caroline laughed at that.

"Yeah." Caroline replied.

"That was fun." Damon smirked.

"That was... _ages_ ago. Like two and a half months ago." Bonnie said confused and they both nodded.

"So what? Can you go away now while there is still a mild buzz left?" Damon asked the two girls annoyed.

"Mine's gone." Caroline said and Damon sighed.

"Typical." He mumbled and she chuckled.

"Just go get the movie. I'll see you in like two hours." She said to him and he nodded then cupped her cheek and pecked her on the lips, grabbed his jacket and vanished. Elena and Bonnie were stunned at the way Damon kissed her. Caroline got her own jacket, put it on then walked over to Bonnie and Elena. "Are you happy now?" Caroline asked the two of them annoyed then walked past them and went back into the Grill. Elena and Bonnie glanced at each other confused then followed her inside where she was sitting back where she was before.

"What's going on?" Elena asked her and in her tone she sounded beyond jealous and angry.

"With what?" Caroline asked absently as she took a sip of her coke. It tasted kind of weird mixed with Damon's blood but she ignored it.

"We just caught you and Damon about to have sex in the alley." Bonnie deadpanned and Caroline shrugged.

"So what?" She asked as she took another sip.

"We're your best friends. How could you not tell us that you're sleeping with him?" Bonnie asked.

"We're not _just_ sleeping together." Caroline replied shocking the two of them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena asked annoyed.

"It _means_ that we're seeing each other." Caroline clarified.

"Since when?" Bonnie asked confused.

"A while." Caroline shrugged.

"How could you do this to me?" Elena asked her in horror and Bonnie closed her eyes in disbelief that Elena just said that. Caroline's eyes narrowed.

"Hold right up." Caroline said holding her hand out like a stop sign as she tried to comprehend exactly what Elena just said. "Do this to _you_?" She asked in disbelief. "First of all, you're the one that always goes on about how it'll _always_ be Stefan despite the fact you won't ever turn to be with him. Second of all, it seems that in spite of all your other claims, you _have_ become Katherine. Third, and most important, Damon is a person. You can't just fuck with him like you do. You screw him around more than Katherine ever did. So don't talk about me doing _anything_ to _you_." Caroline warned and Bonnie was quite proud of her for that. Elena glared at her though.

"I don't screw Damon around. But _you_? You'll never matter to him because he loves _me_. It'll always be _me_. He'd drop you like a sock if I asked him to. He's just using you. _Again_." Elena spat and Bonnie snapped her head to look at Elena in shock for that. Caroline took a deep breath so her vampire face wouldn't come out.

"I think it's best I leave before I lose control and snap your little doppelganger neck." Caroline said then stood up and stormed out of the Grill.

"Did you hear that? She threatened me!" Elena said to Bonnie shocked and Bonnie stared at her. She gaped at her. She couldn't believe it.

"Wow." Bonnie said to Elena.

"I know! I can't believe she said that!" Elena exclaimed.

"No, Elena. I said 'wow' because I never realised just how much of a bitch you are." Bonnie said and Elena's jaw dropped. "You just lost _both_ of your best friends. I hope you're pleased with yourself." Bonnie said then got up and followed Caroline out the door, leaving a stunned Elena sitting alone.

* * *

><p>Bonnie drove over to Caroline's house and she saw the light on in Caroline's room. She gathered what Elena said had brought up all of Caroline's insecurities and the only person who could talk her out of it would be Damon... So Bonnie did what she had to do. She went to see Damon.<p>

She drove over to the boarding house but she stayed in her car because she didn't want to see whatever Stefan had going on inside. She got her phone out and text Damon and asked him to come outside because it was an emergency. He appeared seconds later and she motioned for him to get in the car. He got into her front seat and looked at her confused.

"What's going on?" He asked and Bonnie sighed.

"Elena went nuts at Caroline and I'm pretty sure Caroline's really upset right about now." Bonnie said and Damon looked at her concerned.

"Is this about us?" Damon asked her and Bonnie nodded. "What did Elena say?" He asked deadpan.

"Give me your hand and I'll let you see it." Bonnie said. Damon looked at her sceptically then gave her his hand. She held it between hers then Damon's vision blurred and he was suddenly in the Grill. Elena was next to him and Caroline was across the table. He gathered it was what Bonnie had seen and heard. He heard everything Elena said then what Caroline replied. He watched Caroline stick up for him then he watched Elena say everything she said. He saw Caroline take a deep breath and he didn't miss the hurt on her face as she controlled her vampire visage. He had to agree, if he'd heard Elena say that he would have been close to snapping too. He kind of was anyway. He was surprised when Bonnie told Elena that she'd lost both of her best friends though. Bonnie let go of his hand and he stared out the windshield. He hated Elena in that moment. He hated her so much. He hated her even more for hurting Caroline. Bonnie saw that he was hurt over what Elena said.

"Why did you come to show me that?" He asked her calmly.

"Because I know Elena hurt Caroline deeply by saying what she said." Bonnie replied and Damon nodded.

"I know you're not a fan of mine but can you do something for me?" Damon asked her softly.

"What?" She asked curiously as Damon never asked her for anything.

"Keep Elena the fuck away from me." He said and Bonnie couldn't help a small smile on her face at that.

"Are you going to go talk to Caroline?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what to say. I'm not exactly _brilliant_ at expressing myself." He muttered.

"Well... do you want Elena?" Bonnie asked and Damon shot her a look of disbelief.

"No." He replied like she was crazy for thinking otherwise. Bonnie was really happy about that.

"Just tell her that then. That'll be enough until you figure the rest out." She said and Damon nodded.

"Thank you, Bonnie." He said sincerely and she smiled.

"You're welcome." She replied. "Though if you hurt Caroline, I'll hunt you down." She warned with a smirk and he chuckled.

"I won't." He replied amused.

* * *

><p>Caroline was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't decide whether or not to go see Damon. She wouldn't have the first idea of what to say anyway. Before she could make her decision she heard a tap on her window and she saw him there. She was kind of nervous but she went and let him in anyway. She trudged back to the bed and flopped back down on it. Damon wordlessly took off his boots and jacket then lay down beside her on his side and he pulled her onto her side to face him. She looked at him curiously. She wasn't sure what he was doing there since she was supposed to be meeting him at the boarding house.<p>

"I don't want Elena." He said to her and she saw how sincerely he said that though she was a little confused as to why he was saying that. "Just you." He said and she smiled a little at him saying that.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"Bonnie." Damon replied. "She showed me what happened earlier with a vision."

"So you're choosing me?" She asked him softly with wide innocent eyes that kind of broke his heart. He knew exactly how it felt to never be chosen and he would never do that to her.

"No." He replied. "Because making a choice means you want two people and you can only choose one. I don't want anyone _but_ you. So there is no choice to be made." He said and her stomach fluttered at that. That was _way_ better than being picked over someone else.

"What changed?" She asked him and he looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You couldn't even tell me you liked me without me turning your mind into mush first so... how are you being like this now?" She asked and he understood what she meant.

"I don't want to make another mistake with you. I'm not going to risk losing you just because I find this stuff hard to talk about." He said and she smiled and kissed him for that. "I know I hurt you before but I'm going to try hard never to hurt you again." He said and she nodded.

"I trust you." She said and internally he was surprised at that. "Are you serious about me?" She asked and he nodded.

"I'm not good with the feelings thing like you said but after these ten weeks with you, I'm quite sure that you're my other half." He said and she kind of felt like she melted into the bed.

"I like the sound of that." She smiled and he smirked.

"Think about it, it kind of makes sense." He said amused. "You're light and I'm dark. You talk too much and I don't talk enough." He teased and she playfully slapped his arm and laughed. "You're kind of like Belle and I'm kind of like the beast... but that worked out." He smirked and she giggled.

"You just compared us to a Disney movie." She teased back and he chuckled.

"Yeah, well, tell anyone and I'll still stake you." He said and she laughed then kissed him.

"Nobody would ever believe you said that anyway." She smirked and he kissed her.

"Your mother is downstairs." Damon commented.

"I am aware of that." Caroline said amused.

"So... why don't we go over to the boarding house instead?" He asked and she giggled knowing he wanted to jump her.

* * *

><p>They'd been so busy being all over each other they'd forgotten to lock Damon's door when they went into his room. They were under the covers completely because it was the only way they could ever have sex in the dark and the sensations were heightened when they couldn't see. They were kissing and rolling around under the covers in different positions and they happened to be on their sides face-to-face when Damon's door flew open. He groaned in annoyance then popped his head out of the covers while Caroline stayed underneath because she kind of gathered who it was. Damon saw a furious looking Elena standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.<p>

"Get the fuck out." Damon said to her deadpan and her jaw dropped. Caroline was kind of shocked at him saying that too but she didn't say anything. She was surprised when he took her hand under the covers and interlaced their fingers but it made her smile too.

"What?" She asked shocked and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm busy. Obviously." He said.

"I need to talk to you." Elena said and he scowled at her.

"Are you stupid?" He asked her in disbelief and she looked stunned. "I am _busy_ for one and for another stop barging into my room! Get out!" He said annoyed. Caroline popped her head out then and Elena looked appalled to see her there.

"Damon, she won't go away until you talk to her." Caroline muttered. Damon turned to look at her then.

"Or we could just ignore her and she'll go away unless she wants an eyeful." He smirked then crashed his lips to Caroline's and she laughed against his mouth then pulled away. Elena glared at Caroline horrified.

"I'm not into being watched so just go." Caroline replied. Damon then got a better idea. Stefan wanted Damon to go hunting with him so he figured he'd go just once.

"Hmm... Stefan!" Damon yelled surprising the two girls. Stefan appeared and looked highly amused. "Get her the fuck out of the house and I'll do that thing you want once." Damon said and Stefan smirked.

"Alright." He replied then threw Elena over his shoulder and she was clearly horrified.

"Put me down!" Elena exclaimed while Stefan walked out of Damon's room and closed the door behind him.

"Now, where were we?" Damon asked Caroline who giggled.

"What does he want you to do?" Caroline asked.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" He asked her as he kissed her neck.

"Fine." She said amused then he rolled on top of her and continued like nothing happened.

* * *

><p>Stefan put Elena on the driveway with a chuckle.<p>

"What the hell?" Elena asked him annoyed.

"What were you doing up there anyway?" Stefan asked her amused. "Watching Damon have sex with his girlfriend is kind of weird, don't you think?" He asked and her jaw dropped.

"Girlfriend?" Elena asked shocked.

"Well, yeah. She's here every day and has been for like over two months and Damon hasn't slept with anyone else." Stefan smirked and Elena looked stunned. "Anyway, see you later, Katherine." Stefan said as he walked back to the house. "Oh, I mean, Elena." He winked at her then closed and locked the door, leaving Elena standing looking horrified at him calling her that.

* * *

><p>Caroline pulled away from her kiss with Damon and looked at him in surprise.<p>

"You haven't slept with anyone else?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"Do we have to do this _now_?" Damon asked motioning between them considering they were right in the middle of having sex. Caroline just looked amused.

"No, I guess not." She chuckled then kissed him again and they kept going.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride<p>

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>When they were finished a few hours later, Damon was really surprised that Caroline just rolled off of him and passed out. He'd been sure she wanted to 'talk about it'. He just rolled his eyes and wondered how Caroline Forbes ended up his girlfriend then passed out too.<p>

In the morning, Damon's eyes opened and he rolled over only to find his bed empty. He was kind of surprised at that considering he hadn't heard Caroline leave _and_ she didn't wake him up to say bye... she'd just... gone. He had a wave of insecurity that he pushed away with a dramatic eye roll. He had to stop being so insecure. But... he still didn't get why she didn't wake him up. If she had to leave, she always woke him up. He scowled at the ceiling for that. He was already building reasons in his head... maybe she didn't like Stefan calling her his girlfriend... maybe she'd been sleeping with other people so she was weirded out... Maybe she was freaked out about Elena showing up... maybe he'd handled the Elena situation in the wrong way... maybe she just didn't feel like he did... maybe she didn't want him either...

By the time he got downstairs, he was _furious_. He was in a foul mood and it was beyond obvious. He saw Stefan sitting on the couch reading a book.

"No fast food this morning?" Damon quipped annoyed as he sauntered in.

"No, apparently your girlfriend is making breakfast and I'm required to eat it or she'll go nuts at me." Stefan chuckled humourlessly without looking up from his book. Damon froze.

"What?" Damon snapped because he was in a bad mood. "What are you talking about?"

"She's in the kitchen making waffles apparently." Stefan said in a bored tone and Damon felt like an idiot and his bad mood faded. He wandered over to the kitchen and peeked in only to find Caroline wearing her jeans and _his_ shirt. He thought that was hot. She had a little apron on and her hair was tied up as she mixed the batter. He had to admit she looked really sexy being all domesticated. She looked up and smiled. He saw on her face that she was happy to see him.

"Morning, feel like waffles?" She asked curiously and he chuckled. He was such a fucking dumbass.

"Uh... yeah. Alright." He said and her smile fell.

"Something wrong?" She asked because she'd heard his bad mood with Stefan. Damon saw the worry on her face and he kind of wanted to slap himself.

"No." He smiled. "You look hot in my shirt." He commented as he walked over to her and she laughed.

"Sorry but you ripped mine off and I don't have another one here." She said and he smirked then leaned down and kissed her.

"I like it." He replied and she was kind of surprised at his behaviour considering she'd thought he was in a mood but she didn't comment as she liked it. "So apparently you're going to go nuts at Stefan?" He asked amused and she nodded.

"Well, it was him who told me that eating human food dulls the cravings so I thought if he had some, maybe the female population of Virginia wouldn't dwindle quite as much today." She said and Damon laughed at that. She was too cute.

"You do know he would have heard you say that." Damon commented.

"Mmhmm. I already told him that." She said and Damon looked surprised.

"And he agreed?" He asked sceptically.

"It's not like he's getting a choice in the matter." Caroline quipped as she buttered the waffle iron and Damon chuckled. "We made a deal anyway." She said and Damon looked at her confused.

"You made a deal with Ripper Stefan." Damon said deadpan.

"Mmhmm, he agreed to be less despicable if I agreed to be less annoying about him _being_ despicable." She said and Damon laughed loudly at that.

"Maybe you should give me a break and annoy Damon instead." Stefan said as he came into the kitchen.

"I annoy Damon plenty, don't you worry." Caroline chirped as she poured the batter into the iron and Damon chuckled at that. "Now make your despicable ass useful and go down and get me three blood bags." Caroline said to Stefan and he scowled at her while Damon looked highly amused at her bossing Ripper Stefan around.

"Why?" Stefan asked annoyed.

"_Because_ I need them to make the waffle sauce." She replied shocking the brothers.

"Waffles with _blood_ sauce?" Damon asked her shocked and she nodded.

"What's the big deal? We're vampires." Caroline said.

"Have you done that before?" Stefan asked surprised.

"Mmhmm. It's great. Now _go_ Stefan." Caroline pointed to the door and he rolled his eyes and left the kitchen. Damon was amused by Stefan actually doing as he was told. Damon watched while she pulled out vanilla, honey and sugar and a pan which she heated then Stefan came back with the three blood bags and put them on the counter.

"Anything else?" He said to her sarcastically.

"Yes, go set the table." Caroline said and Stefan deadpanned while Damon bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh. "And you..." Caroline pointed to Damon. "Go get three glasses." She said and Stefan smirked at Damon considering he wasn't the only one being bossed about now. Damon rolled his eyes but went over and got three glasses anyway. Caroline poured two of the blood bags into the pan and added vanilla, honey and sugar and mixed it in then let it simmer. She poured the other bag into the three glasses then motioned for the two of them to go sit down. Damon was highly amused by this little 'family breakfast' but he went and sat down anyway. Stefan looked like he couldn't understand _why_ the hell he was listening to her. A couple of minutes later, Caroline walked over to the table with a plate full of waffles and a little pouring container full of her 'blood sauce' and their three glasses of blood. She sat down and the boys took a waffle each then put the sauce on a corner and tried it. Both of their heads snapped up to look at her practically at the same time.

"That's amazing." Stefan said surprised and Caroline smiled.

"Like... _really_ good." Damon agreed and she grinned.

"Told you so." She chirped and they chuckled then the three of them got stuck in to the rest of it. The boys thought it was incredible. After they were finished she turned to Stefan. "Can I ask you a question now that you're finished?" Caroline asked him.

"If you must." He replied.

"Do you swear to tell the truth?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"I swear." He said.

"After that don't you feel less like you need to drain everyone dry?" She asked.

"What?" Stefan asked confused and Damon was shaking with silent laughter at not only her asking that but how she worded it.

"Don't you feel the hunger less now?" Caroline smiled and he rolled his eyes.

"I suppose." He said and she grinned. Damon couldn't believe that Caroline got Ripper Stefan to feel the hunger less and _admit _it. He was seriously impressed.

"Very good. I'll just have to come up with more blood food for you to eat then." She said and Damon looked highly amused.

"Why?" Stefan asked annoyed though he _did_ kind of like it. Maybe. You know, it wasn't that bad.

"Consider it stage one of me annoying you less." She smirked and he sighed.

"Fine." He muttered and Caroline giggled. Damon was shocked that _Ripper_ Stefan was agreeing to toning down the killing. "But since I agreed to annoy you _less_ and not stop completely, you're on dish duty." She said with a million dollar smile and Stefan scowled at her.

"What?" He asked her like she was insane.

"Consider it stage one of you being less despicable." She said and he glared at her then stood up and took the dishes from the table over to the sink and Damon was so amused by Caroline being able to boss Ripper Stefan around.

"I could just kill you." Stefan muttered and Damon's expression darkened but before he could say anything.

"You could but then I will _literally_ haunt you, annoy you and nag in your ear forever." Caroline said and Stefan deadpanned.

"I'd stake myself before putting up with you forever." Stefan said and she smiled.

"That's the spirit, Stefan." Caroline chirped and Damon chuckled.

"You couldn't have gone out with Bonnie instead? Aneurisms would be a blessing right now." Stefan said to Damon annoyed and he and Caroline laughed.

"I could go get her and we could tag team you." Caroline grinned and Stefan deadpanned which made Damon laugh.

"I hate you." Stefan said and Caroline smiled.

"Hate requires you to feel something, Stefan. Tell me... Do you _hate_ me?" She asked him and he scowled at her while Damon grinned at Caroline... finally understanding what she was doing.

"No, I suppose I don't hate you. I just find you annoying as fucking hell." He snarled as he banged the dishwasher closed then stormed out of the kitchen and Caroline winked at Damon. He looked at her kind of in awe for coming up with a plan.

"Breakfast was great." Damon said then kissed her.

"Good." She smiled.

"Where did you even come up with that?" He asked curiously and she shrugged.

"When I was human, I used to always dip cookies in tea then eat them and one day I was sitting with a glass of blood and saw a packet of cookies and just tried it and it was amazing so I've tried making lots of stuff with blood in it and it makes the food better." She said.

"I can't even remember the last time Stefan and I had breakfast together." Damon said amused and Caroline smiled.

"Let's go out." She said and he nodded. He figured she wanted to tell him about her plan.

"Are you going to go out in my shirt?" He asked amused and she shrugged.

"Thought we could stop by my house on the way." She said.

* * *

><p>They were in Damon's car after Caroline changed her clothes at her house and he drove them out of Mystic Falls.<p>

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked surprised and he smirked.

"Somewhere I think you'll like." He said amused. He'd been meaning to take her for weeks but just never got around to it. About half an hour later Damon made a left turn and Caroline's eyes widened and her jaw dropped and he laughed at her shocked expression.

"The new mall!" She exclaimed and he laughed.

"I'm sure you've been dying to come here." He said amused.

"Well... yeah!" She replied and he chuckled.

"Figures." He said amused.

"We're going _shopping_ together?" She asked him stunned and he smirked.

"Would you rather not?" He asked amused and she laughed.

"No, no. Damon Salvatore willingly going shopping is probably like a once in an eternity kind of thing so I'm not going to argue." She said and he laughed at that.

"We'll see how insane your little shopping addiction is before I make any decisions on that." He said amused and she smiled.

"I'll make it fun for you." She winked at him and he cocked an eyebrow at that.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" He asked.

"When you look like you're about to slaughter everyone in the mall, I'll take you into a changing room and give you a better kind of release." She smirked at him and he groaned at that.

"And everyone thinks _I'm_ the evil one." He said as he could already feel himself hardening at the thought. Caroline giggled. He parked the car and Caroline jumped out of the passenger seat with a grin on her face. She was _so_ excited considering this was a kind of coupley thing to do and she'd been wanting to come here for a while. Damon saw her happy expression and was highly amused. He was surprised when her smile fell though. "What's wrong?" He asked curiously as he walked around to her.

"I forgot that Elena is coming here with Jeremy and Alaric today." She admitted and he shrugged.

"So what?" He asked.

"So she'll think I got you to take me here to rub it in to her." Caroline said awkwardly and Damon understood what she was getting at.

"But that's not what happened so why do you care what Elena thinks?" Damon asked her softly and she just shrugged but didn't meet his eyes. He realised then that Elena always was first with everyone and Caroline wasn't and she was just insecure. "Did you know that Bonnie stopped being friends with Elena last night because of what Elena said to you?" Damon asked and Caroline's head snapped up and she stared at him in shock.

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"So, since you're right and this _may_ be the only time I _willingly_ take you shopping... can we just forget about Elena and go and attempt to have some fun?" He smirked at her and she smiled then kissed him. He cupped her cheek and kissed her back.

"Yeah, okay." She replied.

"Besides, we're vampires. We can just avoid her." Damon said amused and Caroline laughed.

"True." She smiled.

"Good." He said as he slung his arm over her shoulders. "Then let's go bore me to death with shopping." He smirked and she giggled then put her hand on his lower back and he led her into the mall.

* * *

><p>A short while later they were in a clothing shop when Damon had an idea.<p>

"Can I pick some stuff for you to try on?" He asked her amused and she looked at him curiously.

"If I can do the same with you." She replied surprising him and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing ridiculous." He smirked and she smiled.

"Nothing brown." She replied and he laughed.

"Brown?" He asked her amused.

"I don't like brown." She shrugged. "So, I'll meet you at the changing rooms in like ten minutes. Let's say... ten things each?" She asked and he smirked.

"Alright." He nodded.

* * *

><p>Caroline met Damon at the changing rooms and handed him his pile and from the quick glance he got, nothing looked bad at all. He'd been sure that she would have tried to get him to try at least <em>something<em> silly. Damon gave her hers then they went into the changing rooms. Damon was stunned at the stuff she picked for him to try. He liked the look of all of it in all honesty. There was a leather biker jacket that was quilted which looked pretty cool, a midnight blue and black check shirt then he laughed out loud at the next one. It was a black t-shirt with 'Mark it Zero' written across the chest... A quote from 'The Big Lebowski'. He was surprised and pleased that she remembered that.

"Sorry, couldn't help it." He heard Caroline say and he couldn't help smiling.

"I like it." He replied amused. He looked over the rest of the things then. A black button down with grey pinstripes that he really liked, two pairs of dark wash biker jeans that were a little different from each other, a deep red Affliction t-shirt with five crows across the chest which he loved and found a little amusing all at once, a dark grey and black Affliction corn reaper t-shirt, a nice black v-neck sweater and a three quarter length sleeve faded black casual zip up shirt. He tried on the first pair of jeans, the check shirt and the jacket and they fit him perfectly and oddly suited him.

"You going to show me?" Caroline asked.

"Mmhmm." Damon replied then opened the door as did she and he looked her up and down and she did the same. Caroline was wearing a black lace up pencil skirt with a royal blue strapless top with a sweetheart neckline.

"You look really hot." Caroline smiled. "Do you like anything?" She asked and he nodded.

"All of it to be honest." He replied and she grinned. "That looks amazing on you." He pointed to her and she looked really happy about that.

"I like all of what you picked too." She replied.

* * *

><p>Damon had picked out six dresses, two tops, a skirt and a pair of black skinny jeans with a zip running up the outside of the leg. The stuff wasn't what Caroline would normally pick out for herself but she actually loved all of them on much to her surprise. There was only one dress she wasn't keen on and it was just because she thought it was too short. She didn't mind short dresses but it couldn't be strapless <em>and<em> too short. She explained that to Damon and he just laughed. Caroline was surprised when Damon bought everything that she picked out for him though she was so happy that he liked it. He'd taken her pile and paid for that too. She was going to buy the stuff for herself but he beat her to it. She thanked him but he just kissed her cheek and winked at her. They left that store and wandered down the mall and Caroline smiled when Damon put his arm around her again. Caroline liked picking out stuff for him and being surprised by what he picked out for her. She hoped they could do it again sometime. Normally, she would want to go in like _every_ store and look at everything but she was trying to be chilled out about it. She thought she should probably ease Damon into what would be her normal shopping frenzy.

Damon was surprised that he was actually _enjoying_ this. He liked that she'd picked stuff she thought would look nice on him but would still be something _he_ would like. He was enjoying her company. He was enjoying the fact that going to the mall with your girlfriend was just so _normal_. There was no Klaus or Stefan or other supernatural crap... they were just... hanging out. He liked it. He noticed Caroline's gaze going over to a DVD store so they went inside. They decided they should probably get some considering they'd watched most of Damon's. Damon was looking over the horror section when Caroline went up to him with season one of Supernatural.

"Have you seen this?" She asked him and he shook his head.

"Don't you think we have enough of that crap to deal with?" He asked with a smirk and she laughed.

"Yeah, but it's a good show. Plus, Dean's hot." She said and Damon chuckled.

"Who's Dean?" He asked.

"Him." She pointed to the cover. "He's the older brother. Actually... you know... they're kind of a bit like you and Stefan in a way." She said as an afterthought and he cocked an eyebrow at that.

"How so?" He asked amused.

"Well, Dean's hot and cocky, a womanizer, impulsive, he drinks too much and he's full of attitude whereas Sam is sweet, thoughtful, level headed, boring and kind of irritating." She said and Damon laughed at her description of them. He was quite amused by her comparison to Stefan too.

"So... Do you like this 'Dean' because he's like me or do you like me because I'm like him?" He asked amused and she smiled.

"Him because he's like you." She replied and he chuckled and kissed her. "Though he's better looking." She teased and he laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Is that so?" He asked amused and she giggled then kissed him.

"No." She replied with a wink and he chuckled and watched her hurry back down to the TV aisle. He smiled at her retreating form and thought to himself that he might just love her already.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 5

* * *

><p>They ended up getting a bunch of movies and TV box sets then they left the store. Caroline decided that she wanted to get some frozen yoghurt so they went down to the food court. Caroline got raspberry and blueberry and Damon got kiwi and strawberry then they sat down next to each other in a little bench. "So is shopping with me totally terrible?" She asked amused from her seat next to him and he chuckled.<p>

"No, not totally." He smirked at her and she smiled. "What else do you want to do here?" He asked as he took a spoonful of his. "This is actually really good." He said surprised motioning to the frozen yoghurt and she chuckled.

"I love the stuff." She agreed then took a bit of her own. She took a spoonful and held it up. "Want to try mine?" She asked and he smirked then tried it.

"That's better than mine." He pouted and she laughed.

"Want to trade?" She asked and he was surprised.

"You would trade?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and she smiled.

"The one you got is actually my favourite. I just _always_ have that so I thought I'd try something else." She said amused and he chuckled then the two of them traded. "But back to your previous question... I want to go into the apple store and the pet store but other than that I'm not fussed." She replied.

"Why the pet store?" He asked amused and she laughed.

"I like looking at the puppies. They're so cute." She replied and he chuckled.

"Okay." He said amused as he hadn't expected that reply. "The apple store?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I wanted to try out the new iPhone. I thought I might ask my mom for it for Christmas but I don't even know anything about it so thought I'd try it since there isn't an apple store in Mystic Falls." She shrugged. "Anything you need to get here?" She asked.

"As lame as it sounds, the boarding house needs a new coffee machine." Damon smirked and she laughed.

"You want to do that while I go nuts with the puppies then?" She asked and he laughed.

"That might be funny to see though." He smirked.

"If you think it'll be funny for me to totally embarrass you then fine by me." She said amused and he laughed.

"Can't really miss it now." He said amused and she giggled. "Is it just the pups you look at?" He asked.

"Well... the pet store is always my favourite part of the mall but I can't really look at the rabbits anymore since Stefan made me kill one and I'm scarred for life and feel so guilty because I like totally killed one of their cousins or something." She rambled and he laughed loudly at that because she was just so adorable.

"If it makes you feel any better, they're different kinds of rabbit." He smirked and she looked at him in contemplation as if she was thinking that over.

"Yeah, maybe that is a _little_ better." She said and he chuckled. "Is that... never mind." She said as she ate her yoghurt.

"You know you can't do that." He pointed out amused.

"Is that what Stefan wants you to do? Go hunting?" She asked and he looked at her for a moment. He was surprised at just how perceptive she always was.

"Mmhmm." He nodded and she thought about that.

"And you agreed to just so he would throw Elena out?" Caroline asked curiously and he nodded. "Are you going to kill?" She asked softly and he wondered if he should answer that question. On the one hand, he didn't want to disappoint her and on the other, he would never change for anyone.

"I'm a vampire not a human." He replied and she nodded. She understood that he was saying yes.

"Can... uh..." She started but she wasn't sure if she could even say that out loud.

"Can...?" He asked sceptically.

"Can I come?" She asked and his jaw dropped.

"What?" He asked shocked and she sighed.

"Can I tell you something... and... please don't tell anyone?" She asked and he nodded. "I want to feed from humans... I like it... but nobody else understands that so I don't." She said and internally he kind of felt like he might fall over in shock. He'd been worried that feeding from humans would be like a deal breaker for her but it seemed that wasn't the case.

"I'll take you hunting anytime you want but you can't come with me and Stefan because then Stefan will have something on you. He won't keep that to himself." Damon said and Caroline nodded in understanding.

"So if we went together... you would keep it to yourself?" She asked and he nodded.

"I don't care what they think about me but I know you don't want any humans to know about that side of being a vampire. I get it." He said.

"It's not like I want to massacre a whole bunch of people... but..." She trailed off and he smirked.

"But you also want to indulge in your nature a little sometimes." He finished for her.

"Yeah." She agreed. "Does that make me terrible?" She asked softly and he shook his head.

"No. It makes you a vampire." He replied and she nodded. He put his arm around her then leaned in close to her and kissed her cheek. She turned her head to look at him and smiled.

"I'm having a lot of fun with you." She said and he smirked then closed the distance and kissed her lips. He pulled back but stayed close to her and watched her for a moment.

"You haven't commented on what Stefan said." He pointed out.

"Which part?" She asked.

"Where he called you my girlfriend." He said and her stomach fluttered. "Are you alright with that?" He asked.

"I'm alright with that." She replied and he looked quite pleased with that. "Are _you_ alright with that?" She asked.

"Did you hear me argue with Stefan over it?" He smirked and she chuckled.

"Fair enough." She smiled.

"Have you been sleeping with anyone else?" Damon asked hesitantly and Caroline could tell he kind of didn't want to know.

"No, just you." She replied and he nodded.

"Can we keep it that way?" He asked and she looked at him in a little bit of surprise.

"Is that your weird Damon way of asking to be exclusive?" She asked amused and he chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess." He said amused and she laughed.

"_Can_ you be exclusive?" She smirked.

"Well I have been for a while. I don't see it being a problem." He said honestly.

"I'll agree on one condition." She said and he looked surprised.

"What condition?" He asked.

"If you decide you want to sleep with someone else, break up with me first. Don't cheat on me. It's just disrespectful to do it behind someone's back." She said and he nodded.

"I won't cheat on you. I promise." He said sincerely.

"So you agree to my condition?" She asked and he nodded.

"I don't see myself wanting anyone else but if by some chance it happens I'll tell you." He said and she smiled.

"Alright." She said.

"Then you have to agree to the same." He said and internally she was surprised.

"I agree." She said. "Though I don't see that being an issue, to be honest." She added and he smiled. He stroked her cheek lightly with his finger tips and she was surprised at how affectionate he could be when he let go of all the crap he held onto.

"Why's that, Blondie?" He smirked. "You falling for me or something?" He teased softly but it was obvious that he really wanted to know the answer to that. She blushed a little and was a little embarrassed.

"I guess I am." She replied and Damon's stomach fluttered. "Your yoghurt's going to melt if you don't eat it you know." She teased and he chuckled then kissed her. She deepened the kiss and he kissed her back just as softly. It was a loving kiss as opposed to all of their passionate kisses. Damon pulled away then ate a spoonful of his yoghurt and she laughed. They had no idea that they were being watched. Three jaws were practically hitting the floor.

* * *

><p>Ric, Jeremy and Elena were walking through the mall and Ric stopped when he saw Caroline feeding Damon frozen yoghurt then the two of them swapping over. Damon was all over her and his expression said everything. It was very obvious that he was oblivious to anything but her. He laughed and smiled and kissed her and had his arm around her and was only paying attention to her. It was just so <em>weird<em> to see Damon act like that. They watched him touch her cheek in such a soft gesture of affection it was hard to believe it was the same vampire. They watched him kiss her then pull away and take a spoonful of his frozen yoghurt. Ric felt like he might fall over in shock at the fact Damon was _eating_ frozen yoghurt. Ric saw that Elena was furious while Jeremy just looked highly amused but still quite shocked nonetheless. Ric saw that Elena was seconds away from storming over to them so he decided to warn Damon.

* * *

><p>Damon was about to say something to Caroline when he heard...<p>

"Damon." Ric called and both he and Caroline turned to see Ric, Jeremy and Elena walking over to them. Damon didn't move from his position with his arm around Caroline though he felt Caroline stiffen beside him.

"Ric." Damon replied.

"Hey." Caroline said softly.

"What are you doing here?" Ric asked them surprised.

"I thought it might put me in the good books to take Blondie for a surprise shopping day at the new mall." Damon smirked and Ric and Jeremy chuckled while Elena glared at Caroline.

"I can't believe you're eating frozen yoghurt." Jeremy said amused and Damon shrugged then took another spoonful.

"It's kind of amazing. I can't believe I haven't had this before." Damon smirked and the boys and Caroline laughed a little.

"Is it working, Caroline?" Jeremy asked her amused.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Shopping and frozen yoghurt. Is it putting him in the good books?" Jeremy asked amused and Damon and Caroline chuckled.

"Almost. We'll see how he is with the puppies in the pet store." She smirked at Jeremy and he, Ric and Damon laughed at that.

"Where's Stefan?" Ric asked Damon who shrugged.

"Haven't a clue." He replied and Elena shot him an annoyed look.

"You're supposed to be watching him." Elena snapped and Damon smirked.

"Says who?" Damon asked amused at her getting all annoyed.

"Isn't it common sense?" Elena asked him in disbelief and Damon chuckled.

"You seem to forget that I'm _not_ the bunny eating nice brother, Elena. I couldn't give a crap who Stefan's draining dry at the moment. I just want him to stop getting blood all over the furniture. If he just put down some protective covers or something, I wouldn't care at all." He replied and Elena's jaw dropped. Ric and Jeremy knew that Damon was _Damon_. Elena always expected him to be someone he wasn't but they didn't.

"That's just selfish." Elena said annoyed and Damon chuckled.

"Then why don't _you_ go watch him, Elena. I have better things to do with my time than babysit my 163 year old baby brother." He said and she looked like she was about to explode.

"But before you go and attempt to ruin what has been a lovely day, Elena, Damon and I have to get going." Caroline said and Damon chuckled.

"It's hot when you get all bossy, you know." Damon smirked at her and she giggled while Ric and Jeremy chuckled at him saying that. There was practically steam coming out of Elena's ears. Damon took the last couple of spoonfuls of his yoghurt then tossed the cup in the trash can. He grabbed the shopping bags in one hand then stood up. "Later." He smirked at Ric and Jeremy.

"Bye, guys." Jeremy said.

"Bye." Caroline waved a little then she and Damon sauntered away from them hand in hand and didn't look back. "God, that was just wonderful." Caroline muttered and Damon chuckled.

"Don't let her bother you, Blondie. Will those sickly sweet puppies cheer you up?" He asked amused and she laughed.

"Yeah, they always do." She smiled.

* * *

><p>"You know you've been making blood food?" Damon asked and Caroline nodded. They were sitting watching a movie in his bed that night. "Think blood frozen yogurt would be nice?" He asked amused and she chuckled.<p>

"You really liked the frozen yogurt, huh?" She teased and he smirked.

"I did." He agreed.

"Yeah, it probably would." She said. Damon noticed that her sunny demeanour hadn't returned completely since meeting Elena at the mall. He didn't like her being sad. It really bothered him, actually. He kind of wanted to choke Elena for making his Blondie sad.

"Tell me something, Blondie... do you like surprises?" He asked curiously and she looked at him confused.

"Who doesn't like surprises?" She asked and he chuckled.

"So... hypothetically, if I got you a surprise, would that cheer you up?" He asked and she smiled at him fondly.

"Just being here with you is cheering me up. I don't need a surprise." She said and he felt kind of warm and fuzzy at her saying that.

"So... are you saying you don't want it?" He asked amused and she giggled.

"You actually got me a surprise?" She asked sceptically and he chuckled.

"Just close your eyes." He said and she smiled then put her hands over her eyes. He could tell she was kind of excited for whatever it was anyway. She heard him get off the bed and walk across the room then seconds later he was back beside her and he put something on her lap. "Okay, you can look." He said and she took away her hands. There was a little shopping bag sitting on her lap. She opened it with extreme curiosity and her jaw dropped. Inside the little bag was a brand new box with the new iPhone inside it. She looked up at him shocked and he was smirking amused at her shocked reaction.

"You got me the phone?" She asked him in shock and disbelief and her stomach was fluttering at him being so sweet. He just shrugged.

"It's on the condition that you bring happy Blondie back." He said and she giggled then practically flattened him to the bed as she kissed him and he chuckled against her lips.

"Thank you! I love it!" She said excitedly and he just kissed her as she was still on top of him. She'd spent like half an hour in the shop trying out all the functions of the phone and she _had_ loved it... so at the time, he couldn't really resist getting it for her.

"Good." He smiled. He had to admit, someone being so pleased with him wasn't something Damon was used to so he was sure in that moment that he would now be buying her stuff regularly because he liked her being so happy with him. He knew her though, it wasn't the fact he'd bought her something or what it was that made her so happy, it was the fact that he'd been thoughtful and gotten her something just to make her happy. "Now I know you're dying to play with the phone so go ahead." He teased and she laughed then kissed him and sat back up and took the box out which made him chuckle.

"It's the white one." She grinned as she opened the box and he shot her an amused look.

"Didn't you say you wanted the white one?" He asked amused and she smiled.

"Yeah." She said.

"You're going to end up getting one of those girly covers for it, aren't you?" He asked and she giggled.

"Yep." She replied and he chuckled. "Ooh... maybe I'll get it crystallized." She said as she took out the contents of the box.

"What's that?" Damon asked confused and she smiled.

"You take it to a crystallizing place and they have people there who like glue hundreds of crystals on it in pretty patterns." She said and he rolled his eyes at her being _so damn girly_.

"Oh for God's sake." He muttered and she laughed. "You're joking right?" He asked her amused and she smirked. "You can really take your phone somewhere and pay someone to glue stuff to it?" He asked her like it was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard and she giggled.

"Yes." She replied and he shook his head.

"What is the world coming to?" He asked rhetorically and she chuckled.

"You know, they do guy versions too." She teased and he deadpanned.

"Do not suggest what I know you're going to suggest." He said and she laughed.

"Why not?" She asked amused. Damon noticed that she looked back to being happy again and although he thought this crystal thing was ridiculous, he _was_ happy that she was smiling genuinely and laughing whole heartedly again.

"First, I'm not a chick. Second, I'm not a _ridiculous_ chick. And third, no!" He said and she was shaking with laughter at that.

"This is so funny. I totally want to crystallize your phone now." She said amused and he smirked.

"Don't even think about it." He said and she giggled.

"Would you be really mad?" She asked amused and he chuckled.

"Extremely." He nodded though he probably wouldn't be and she just looked amused.

"Aww, why?" She asked and he rolled his eyes amused.

"Imagine we didn't know each other and you saw me in a bar. If you saw me on a phone covered in crystals, what would be your first thought?" He asked and she laughed.

"He's either gay or his girlfriend made him do that." She said and he laughed.

"Exactly." He smirked and she smiled.

"Fine. Be totally lame." She said and he chuckled. Caroline had an idea then and it had her highly amused.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 6

* * *

><p>It took her a week to get her little idea in place. Damon had the iPhone 4 so it wasn't that difficult to find what she'd been looking for. When he was in the boarding house, he always left his phone lying around so it was easy enough for Caroline to do what she did.<p>

After that she went to meet Bonnie for lunch in the Grill. It wasn't twenty minutes later that Damon showed up at the Grill and Caroline was trying not to laugh. Damon spotted her and sauntered over to their table and sat down next to her.

"Do you have something you'd like to confess to?" Damon asked her and Bonnie looked at them both confused.

"Nothing springs to mind." Caroline replied though her lip was twitching because she was dying to laugh.

"I see." Damon said. "So this just magically happened to my phone all by itself?" Damon asked holding up his phone. Bonnie saw that his phone was covered in pink crystals and she buckled over with laughter in disbelief that Caroline would do that to _Damon's_ phone. Caroline couldn't help it so she cracked up into a full fit of giggles and Damon did not look impressed. He just sat there and waited for her to calm down and his stony expression hadn't changed.

"That... looks... nice." Caroline said in between laughs.

"You do know I'll get you back for this, right?" Damon asked her seriously and that made her stop laughing.

"I can't believe you did that!" Bonnie said to Caroline as she laughed.

"Neither can I." Damon said with a little chuckle though his face showed his extreme disbelief that she'd actually done it.

"You're not actually mad though." Caroline said to him teasingly and he smirked.

"You covered my phone in pink crystals." Damon reminded her and he couldn't help laughing a little at the _gall_ of her.

"It's a little funny at least." Caroline said to him amused and he sighed.

"You know what else will be a little bit funny?" Damon smirked and Caroline cocked an eyebrow at him in question. "When all of your designer shoes go missing." He said to her and her jaw dropped. Bonnie laughed a little at Damon knowing her so well.

"You wouldn't." She said shocked and he looked at her amused.

"Let me repeat. You covered _my_ phone in _pink_ crystals." He said and Bonnie was holding her stomach from laughing so much.

"You can't take a joke." Caroline rolled her eyes and he chuckled.

"Just tell me how to get it off." He said and she smirked then took his phone from his hands and grabbed a corner and pulled the sticker with the crystals off and Damon looked confused.

"It was just a sticker, Mr Lame." Caroline said and Damon chuckled. "I wouldn't go do it permanently. I just thought your face would be funny." She giggled.

"Fine, your shoes are safe for now." He replied and she chuckled.

"Damon, I guarantee you, you touch my shoes and I will crystallize _you_. And that won't be a sticker, it'll be super glue." She said and both Damon and Bonnie laughed at that. "Then you really will be a sparkly vampire." She said and they laughed louder.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Damon asked her amused and she smirked at him deviously.

"You have a good point. Guess I'll just do it to your car then." She said and his jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"What?" He asked in disbelief and she laughed.

"Don't touch the shoes." She warned him and he chuckled.

"Then don't touch the car." He replied and she giggled.

"Deal." She replied amused holding out her hand for him to shake it. He took her hand and kissed it instead which made her smile.

"Yeah, that's still weird." Bonnie commented.

"What's weird?" Damon asked curiously.

"You two being together." Bonnie said and Damon chuckled and Caroline just looked amused.

"Why?" Caroline asked curiously.

"It just is. Relationship Damon is weird." She said and they both laughed a little at that.

"I don't think I'm different just because I lo..ike... like... uh... Caroline." He said a little wide eyed and both Bonnie and Caroline looked totally taken by surprise by what he _almost_ said. "Right. So. Things to do. Have to make sure Stefan doesn't kill anyone. Uh... bye." Damon said then bolted out of the Grill and Bonnie and Caroline gaped at each other.

"He almost said he loves you!" Bonnie said shocked and Caroline looked just as stunned.

"He did, didn't he? He really just almost said that." Caroline said wide eyed.

"Oh my God." Bonnie grinned. "Damon totally loves you." She teased and Caroline giggled.

"God, bet he's totally off freaking out." She said amused and Bonnie chuckled.

"You think?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"You have no idea what I had to do just to get him to admit he _likes_ me." Caroline laughed.

"I don't want to know, do I?" Bonnie asked sceptically and Caroline smirked.

"Let's just say I had to seduce it out of him and leave it at that." She giggled and Bonnie laughed.

"So?" Bonnie pressed.

"So what?" Caroline asked confused.

"Do you love him?" Bonnie asked and Caroline smiled then took Bonnie's hand and let herself feel everything she felt for Damon and Bonnie's jaw dropped. "Oh my God. You really feel that way?" Bonnie asked stunned and Caroline smiled. "You think he's the one for you?" She asked and Caroline nodded.

* * *

><p>Caroline knew Damon would no doubt be freaking out. He was beginning to let her in and she was starting to really <em>know<em> him... so she knew that the 'love' word was really important to him. She had been nervous about telling him how she was feeling but she wasn't anymore. She knew the idea she had was kind of lame and he would no doubt tease her for being a sap but she couldn't really help it. She wanted it to be special. The following week it was three months since she'd gone up to his room and she'd decided to tell him. But she had a certain _younger _Salvatore she would have to get rid of first or he'd totally ruin it.

* * *

><p>The day before it was three months since she'd gone up to his room, Caroline was in the Salvatore kitchen cooking dinner. Damon was having a drink with Ric for an hour then he was going to come home for dinner with her and Stefan. She cooked practically every day now at Damon's request – and though Stefan bitched and complained – he never missed a meal she made. If she was going to try to get something out of him, she needed to make it worth his while. She remembered him saying once that he loved onion marmalade so she made like a little starter for him for before Damon came home. She walked into the living room and found him drinking from a girl.<p>

"Stefan?" Caroline asked unfazed. She saw this practically every day now so it was like _normal _now. Stefan pulled away from the girl's neck and gave her a look of disbelief.

"What?" He asked annoyed.

"I need to talk to you." She said and he groaned in annoyance.

"I'm busy." He replied.

"But I made something for you." She smiled at him brightly and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I remember you saying once that you loved onion marmalade so I made you a little onion marmalade pastry starter infused with blood." She smiled and she could see a flash on his face that showed he thought that would be _amazing _but he was hardly going to tell her that.

"Why?" He asked.

"I... was hoping we could maybe make a little deal about something and I thought it would put me in the good books." She grinned and he actually chuckled a little at her being so open and honest about it.

"Bribing me." He smirked. "Unless it's you _never _nagging at me ever again, I doubt I'm interested." He said and she looked at him curiously.

"_Would _you be interested in a deal like that?" She asked and he looked surprised.

"Depends on what you want me to do." He said.

"Tell you what? If you stop when the heart slows then I'll never nag at you again." She promised and he looked at her curiously.

"Every time?" He asked sceptically and she nodded.

"You can still eat like ten girls, Stefan. But if you stop half way then it's the equivalent of draining five." She shrugged and he seemed to think about that for a second.

"Why do you care who I kill?" He asked. "They're only humans." He said and she nodded.

"I know." She agreed and he looked at her quizzically then shoved the still alive girl he'd been feeding from down on the couch and moved to stand in front of Caroline.

"You _know_? Then why do you care if I kill or not?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because even though I annoy you and nag at you... I care about you. I care about you _so _much and I know you're not ready to feel again and that's okay, I'll never force you to feel. But one day you know you'll feel again. It might be a hundred years from now, but you will. So if I can make that easier for you by making you blood food and making silly deals to stop nagging at you, I will. Those girls you drain, they aren't important to me. _You _are important to me. When I turned, _you_ were there for me. _You _were my friend and my rock. I'll always be your friend, Stefan, even if right now you don't want me to be or you don't feel that way in return." She said and Stefan stared at her throughout what she said. He felt a tiny twinge in his heart and he wanted to roll his eyes at himself for being so affected by a ditsy blonde who talked too much. He now understood her 'be less despicable' plan and honestly... being around her... he couldn't help it... he was... kind of... sort of... maybe just a tiny bit... starting to... feel... just a miniscule bit... It was almost a whole minute later that Stefan spoke again. Caroline _almost _gave up until she saw something in Stefan's eyes for just a second that she hadn't seen in months.

"You don't tell Damon." He said to her and she looked at him confused.

"About what?" She asked.

"I'm not going to stop drinking human blood... but if you swear not to nag at me... I will _try_ not to kill." He said to her and internally she was doing a _huge _happy dance. She thought this was so much progress! "But you don't tell Damon about this." He warned and she nodded.

"I swear, Stefan. Now, are you coming to try my starter while it's still warm?" She smiled and he sighed.

"Might as well." He muttered and she smiled then the two of them walked into the kitchen. He saw the one little plate and he eyed it sceptically. "You didn't put vervain in it, did you?" He asked a little suspiciously and she shook her head.

"I'd never do that to you." She promised. "I don't like onions much but I can take a bite out of it first if you want proof." She said and he eyed her. She'd been cooking in the house for a couple of weeks and never once had she ever done anything to the food so, he just picked one up and took a bite and couldn't stop a groan at how amazing it was. She smiled at that. "Good?" She asked.

"What do you want?" He asked her as if she was making food that good, she obviously wanted something big.

"Well, I will completely leave you alone for three whole days if you make yourself scarce away from the house tomorrow night." She said.

"What do you mean by leave me alone?" He asked. In all honesty... he kind of... didn't... uh... want her to.

"Well, you said I was annoying you by talking your ear off so I figured I would just _not _for three whole days." She said.

"Why do you want the house empty?" He asked and she sighed.

"Because..." She bit her lip. She didn't think she could tell _Ripper _Stefan this.

"You want to do some romantic crap with Damon, huh?" He smirked at her and she giggled.

"Something like that." She nodded.

* * *

><p>Caroline knew Damon was quite partial to Chinese food so she'd practiced cooking different recipes for the whole week and she'd tried adding blood to things. She made vegetable spring rolls with a spicy blood dip to start and sweet and sour wok fried chicken with blood infused into the sauce with spiced rice. She knew Damon was at an evening council meeting and he text her when it was done so she text him back to tell him to go to his room. He was intrigued so he went home and went up to his room only to find a note on his bed.<p>

_Come up to the roof. C_

He smirked at that then wandered upstairs and opened the door to the roof. He was surprised to see Caroline sitting there and she'd made a little table out of a wooden tray and there were cushions instead of seats. There were candles dotted about and Damon thought she was very sweet. He noticed the smell of the food straight away and his mouth watered.

"Smells amazing." He grinned as he walked over to her and she smiled up at him.

"You said you like Chinese, right?" She asked and he nodded as he took a seat beside her then pecked her on the lips.

"What is it?" He asked curiously though he was dying to get stuck in.

"Spring rolls with a little sauce concoction I came up with then blood sweet and sour wok chicken." She grinned and he smirked.

"Sounds amazing." He said genuinely because it really did. "So, why are we on the roof with food and candles?" He asked curiously as she poured him a glass of wine.

"Well, I managed to talk Stefan into pissing off for the night." She started and Damon was seriously surprised at that considering Stefan was meant to be staying to watch Elena but it made him happy to have her to himself for the night. "And..." She started then was hit by a bout of nerves.

"And?" He smirked amused.

"Well... it's three months ago that I went up to your room... so... I just thought this would be nice." She said and he smiled at her warmly. She was so cute.

"It is." He agreed. They started on the spring rolls and Damon groaned in satisfaction when he tasted it because it was _incredible_. The main course was even better. It was amazing because although the taste of human food was great, it had no nutrition for a vampire, so adding blood to it made it the perfect combination. Internally, although he knew it was kind of an archaic thought, the 1800s boy in him _loved_ the domestic side to her. They sat and talked and it was really romantic under the stars with the candles and they were having a great time together. Caroline had been preparing herself all evening and she knew if she didn't do it now, she'd chicken out.

"I made fortune cookies." She smiled and he looked surprised.

"You _made_ them?" He asked and she nodded. She only had two up with them and she had hers separate from Damon's so she handed him his and he smirked. She started to nibble on one side of hers as she watched him intently. He hadn't clicked that there was anything in particular about the fortune cookie and he broke his in the middle then saw the little piece of paper and looked surprised that there _was_ a fortune in it. He took the little piece of paper out and Caroline's heart was in her mouth. He turned it over and read it.

_I love you, Damon._

His eyes widened a little and his stomach clenched and he just stared at the little piece of paper. Damon was quite sure that it was the _sweetest _thing that had ever happened to him. She'd put so much effort into it all to make it special and it really was. He was _certain_ that when he was alone later he'd bubble like a baby over this. He looked up at her then and saw that she was watching him nervously for his reaction.

"I love you too." He said immediately and she smiled and internally was really relieved. He moved over to her and crashed his lips to hers and she kissed him back just as passionately. He pulled away moments later and just looked at her with a smile.

"So you don't lo...ike me?" She teased and he rolled his eyes with an embarrassed laugh.

"Ha ha." He said and she giggled. "You're quite the little romantic." He smirked and she smiled and shrugged.

"No, I just wanted the first time I told you I love you to be a memory rather than just words said." She said and he cupped her cheek and kissed her.

"You're making me feel all sappy." He said and she giggled at him admitting that.

"Isn't that the point in all of it?" She smiled and he chuckled.

"I've never felt sappy before." He said and she smiled and kissed him.

"Me neither." She replied.

"You know... I really don't deserve you." He said to her seriously and she moved her hands up to cup his cheeks softly.

"If you truly love someone, you accept everything about them. I'm never going to try to change you because I love _you_. I know you have a bit of a monster in you but that's okay because I do too." She said and he stared at her, deep into her eyes. "What you _deserve_ is a little happiness after spending such a long time in the darkness." She said as she stroked his cheek softly. "So don't push me away. You do deserve me so let me love you and try to make you happy. I won't ever hurt you. You can be yourself with me, you know. I'll still love you anyway." She smiled and his eyes watered a little. Caroline noticed but she didn't comment. "Besides, 'deserve' is a horrible word and we have enough drama to deal with in the other parts of our life. Can this just be the happy and uncomplicated part of our lives?" She asked and he smiled then kissed her.

"Sounds good." He nodded.

* * *

><p>Caroline was avoiding the boarding house. She'd gotten really used to talking to Stefan a lot and she just knew she'd break the 'no talking' deal if she went there. She normally spent almost every night at the boarding house now with Damon. She'd stayed the night on the night they ate on the roof but then she'd spent two nights at her house. She hadn't even <em>seen <em>Damon since she'd left that morning. Honestly? She was kind of bored out of her mind. Bonnie was out of town visiting family, she couldn't stand Elena anymore and she still hated Tyler so she got used to being with Damon and having a quasi-friendship with Ripper Stefan. She was sitting in a booth at the Grill staring into space and was kind of startled when Stefan sat down across from her. She waved at him and he chuckled.

"So you're really not going to talk at all?" He smirked and she shook her head. "Is that why you haven't been at the boarding house?" He asked and she nodded which made him laugh. "So you've been avoiding me because you can't control your mouth?" He teased and she rolled her eyes at him which made him chuckle. She got her phone out and sent him a text as she said she wouldn't _utter _a word and texting wasn't uttering. His phone beeped and he smirked then took it out and read her message.

_I'm not going to break the deal but when I see you I want to talk to you so it's just easier. Boring, but easier._

"Boring?" He smirked and she nodded. "Are you saying you _like _my company?" He teased and she chuckled then nodded which surprised him visibly. "Fine." He sighed. "Just talk. I... kind of... noticed... your absence." He said and she looked surprised. She text him again quickly and he read it.

_You won't see me talking as breaking the deal?_

"No." He sighed. "Having just Damon talking _at _me for the past few days is ridiculously annoying." He muttered and she giggled.

"Aww, you missed me." She teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Did not." He muttered and she chuckled but didn't push it. They both knew he'd missed her.

"Let's go do something." She said and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You want to... hang out?" He asked her sceptically and she shrugged.

"We can make it a little despicable if you need to make your bad side happy." She said and he laughed at that. She always had such a way of putting things.

"What do you suggest?" He smirked.

"Well, why don't we go play a couple of rounds of pool then go hunting?" She suggested and his jaw dropped.

"Hunting." He said to her deadpan and she nodded.

"Yeah, you know, drinking blood from humans? What you've been doing incessantly for the past few months?" She asked him. She'd been alone for two whole days and she'd thought about it a lot. If she was going to help Stefan feel a little bit which she already knew he was doing just a tiny bit, though she hadn't told anyone else that, he'd have to see her as someone he could trust. Someone who wouldn't judge him. That and she wanted to go hunting. She wasn't going to kill anyone but she knew Stefan wanted to hunt _with _someone and Damon didn't want to hunt with Stefan so she didn't mind doing it with him.

"Why would you go hunting?" He asked her sceptically and she shrugged.

"Because I'm a vampire and I like it?" She said to him like it was the most obvious thing in the world and he looked really surprised.

"Really?" He smirked. It was obvious he didn't believe her and she shrugged.

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm not Elena, Bonnie or anyone else. I'm not a judgemental human." She said and he looked at her amused.

"Fine. Pool then hunting." He agreed and she smiled.

* * *

><p>Elena happened to walk into the Grill a little later and her jaw <em>dropped <em>at Caroline and Stefan playing pool. Stefan was _laughing_... and not in the crazy ripper maniacal way. She was shocked. So she did what she had to do...

She left and went to tattle to Damon.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 7

* * *

><p>Damon was a little confused. She told him she loved him. He said it back. They had the most amazing night together... then she left in the morning and he hadn't seen her since. She'd sent the occasional text but she hadn't stopped by. She wasn't home when he went to see her. He hadn't seen her in two days. It was a tiny town. He hardly ever went two whole days without seeing like <em>everyone<em>. It was highly strange and he _missed _her. He wondered if she was avoiding him...

The door to the boarding house opened and he hurried into the hall hoping it would be her and he scowled at the sight of Elena standing there.

"What do you want?" He asked her annoyed.

"I would just like to know when Caroline and Stefan got to be such bosom buddies." She crossed her arms over her chest and he saw that she was seriously jealous.

"What are you talking about?" He asked confused and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Isn't she supposed to be _your_ girlfriend?" She asked annoyed.

"She isn't _supposed _to be. She _is _my girlfriend." He said.

"Well, why is she in the Grill playing pool with Stefan? I thought he was a Ripper and evil and had no humanity? Stefan is _laughing_, Damon." She glared at him and Damon looked surprised. Internally... he was now _really _confused. Caroline was hanging out with Stefan but avoiding _him_? Caroline was making _Ripper_ Stefan _laugh_? He kind of wanted to kill Elena for knowing this when he didn't. He had to play it cool though. He knew any cracks would be like a game for her.

"Stefan _laughing_?" Damon chuckled. "Well, she _is_ funny." He smirked and Elena looked at him confused.

"You don't _care_?" She asked sceptically and he shrugged.

"Blondie has a way with Stefan. She's making him a little less monstrous." Damon said because it was true. He hadn't seen any dead bodies in the house for a couple of days and that seriously surprised him because he _had _seen humans _and _Stefan feeding.

"How? By being all over him?" Elena asked angrily and Damon smirked at her. He wasn't falling for her crap.

"You do know that I now _know_ you're a spiteful bitch, right?" He asked her and her jaw dropped. "So, your little plan to rat Caroline out and try to cause problems isn't working." He said to her amused. "Oh, and another thing... I'd drop Caroline like a sock if you asked me to?" He asked her with dangerous narrowed eyes and her eyes widened just a fraction.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said pretending to be innocent.

"So you're calling Bonnie a liar?" Damon asked curiously cocking his head to the side and she looked stunned.

"_Bonnie _told you that?" She asked in disbelief.

"She didn't actually tell me. She let me see the entire argument in a vision. You really are a little self-centred bitch, Elena because I wouldn't do _anything _for you let alone give up my girl. So, piece of advice... I am a _vampire_. Vampire's kill people when they piss them off." Damon warned her and she had the sense to look a little afraid. "If I were you, I'd run along and stay out of anything to do with me, my girlfriend and my brother because none of us are interested in your little games." He said to her. "Now get out." He pointed to the door and she just looked shocked then stomped out of the house and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Damon couldn't help being nosy though... so he sped to the Grill seconds after he heard her car leave and he peeked in the window and saw that they were playing pool. Stefan <em>was<em> laughing a little here and there but they were not remotely all over each other. He was wondering how _that_ happened though. He wondered what her reaction would be to him walking in the door... but then if she found out Elena went and told him... fuck it. He had to just be honest with her. He walked in the door and sauntered up to the pool table. Caroline looked up and smiled widely immediately at the sight of him which made him happy as there was _no _guilt on her face. Not that he thought there would be, but still. Stefan related things still made him paranoid. He couldn't really help that. Though Stefan didn't seem pleased to see him at all.

"Hey." Caroline smiled then kissed him on the lips.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked Damon annoyed and Caroline shot him a look for that which both surprised and touched Damon a little.

"_Well_, it seems the resident spiteful bitch is trying to cause problems so she came to tattle on you two." Damon smirked.

"Elena?" Stefan asked confused and Damon nodded. "So, you came to check?" Stefan asked annoyed.

"No, I came to tell you both in case Elena now comes back here to twist what _I _said." He replied.

"What did you say?" Caroline asked curiously and he chuckled.

"That she was pissing me off and vampires kill people when people piss them off so she should get the fuck out and leave the three of us alone." He said amused and both Caroline and Stefan chuckled.

"Nice." Stefan said amused.

"She'll have a field day with that." Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Mmm." Damon nodded. "Are you coming over later?" Damon asked her curiously.

"Yep." She smiled.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." He said then kissed her and turned around and left which _really _surprised Stefan but he didn't comment.

"I'm kind of bored of pool and Elena will no doubt show up now." Caroline muttered and Stefan chuckled.

"So, let's finish this game then go." He shrugged.

"Mmhmm." Caroline nodded.

* * *

><p>After the game, the two of them sped into the woods. They ran and ran and in the distance, Caroline could hear people talking. She smirked at Stefan then ran in that direction and he followed her. They found a couple in a campsite and Stefan was very surprised when she ran straight up to the guy, grabbed him and attacked while covering his mouth. She drank deeply and revelled in the blood for a moment but she pulled away when his heart slowed then realised the woman was screaming. She noticed then that Stefan was standing watching her a little wide eyed.<p>

"If you don't shut her up, I will." Caroline said to him and he looked surprised then raced forward, covered her mouth and sunk his fangs into her neck. Caroline compelled the man to forget then go to sleep and she tossed him into their tent. Caroline was surprised when Stefan pulled away instead of killing the girl but she didn't comment knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. He compelled the woman then the two of them left the camp site. When they were about a mile away, Stefan grabbed her hand and stopped her. She turned to look at him then and he was just staring. "What?" She asked him confused.

"You... you _really_ hunted." He said to her confused and she nodded. She'd been going hunting with Damon so she was used to it now.

"You can still revel in the monster and let them live. I want to do both. I want to feel the dark part of my nature but I don't want to kill. So I hunt. I attack. But I leave them breathing." She said to him and he nodded as he thought about that.

"So you think it's possible to be both?" He asked her curiously but a little hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You are so... good and sweet and kind... but you just hunted like a true vampire." He said to her and she was surprised at him saying all of that.

"I _need _to be both, Stefan. I can't be one or the other or it would be too much. I _am_ a vampire, Stefan. I am not ashamed of that. I don't push it away. I don't regret it. It's just what I am. I accept myself. I need to feel like a vampire sometimes and the hunting gives me that. But I also want to hold onto my humanity so I still try to fight the part of being a vampire that urges me to kill my prey." She said.

"You think it's as easy as that? Just... wanting it?" He asked her and she nodded.

"I honestly believe you can do whatever you set your mind to. I think you put too much pressure on yourself, Stefan. Being a vampire is hard. It's a struggle every day to maintain some semblance of a normal life while being a supernatural creature so you don't need to put extra pressure on that." She said to him and he looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean too much pressure?" He asked her.

"When you're on animal blood, you fight so hard against your nature and while it's admirable, you don't need to do that, Stefan. You are _not _a monster. You have _nothing _to feel guilt over or be ashamed of. You are a _vampire_ not a human. Yes, you have killed people. So have I. So has Damon. So has every other vampire because it's built into us to do that. You are such a sweet man Stefan and honestly, I kind of don't _want_ you to feel." She said softly and he looked surprised.

"Why?" He asked confused.

"Because you aren't happy when you feel. You saddle yourself with so much guilt. The thing about things you did in the past is it's in the _past_. There is nothing you can do to change those things but you do have the ability to shape your future. I genuinely believe you could be happy if you just let all of that crap go. Who cares about a bunch of humans that died? Let it go and be yourself. Be happy." She said to him softly. Caroline saw much to her surprise, Stefan's eyes become a little watery.

"You... you're making me feel." He whispered. Caroline was internally a little surprised at him admitting it.

"I'm not making you feel." She said putting her hand on his shoulder. "_You're_ making you feel."

"You knew." He whispered. She gathered he meant that she knew he was starting to feel a little again.

"Yes." She nodded.

"You haven't told anyone." He said confused and she shook her head.

"It's nobody's business, Stefan. You can trust me." She said to him sincerely. "This is going to be hard and it'll take time but I'll be there. Don't put any pressure on it. Just... take it one day at a time." She said to him and he nodded. "I'll go hunting with you any time, you know. You're not alone, Stefan. You never will be again." She promised and she was surprised when he hugged her. She hugged him back tightly. "But I'll kick your ass if you go back to bunnies." She said into his neck and he chuckled.

* * *

><p>Caroline wandered into Damon's room an hour or so later. They hunted again once more before going back. She was surprised that Damon looked a little... she wasn't sure what his expression was. It was as if he was half pissed and half hurt. She closed the door behind her and locked it as always, kicked off her shoes and dumped her jacket and bag then wandered over and crawled up the bed and lay beside him on her stomach while she leaned her face on her hand supported on her elbow so she could look at him.<p>

"What's wrong?" She asked him softly.

"Nothing." He lied with a shrug then he caught her scent and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why do you smell like blood and Stefan?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"We went hunting." She replied and his jaw dropped.

"You went hunting with Ripper Stefan." He deadpanned and she nodded.

"Yes and I smell like him because he hugged me." She said and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"He _hugged _you?" He asked sceptically.

"Mmhmm." She nodded. "Are you... jealous?" She asked confused and he rolled his eyes.

"No." _Yes_.

"Did you forget that I love you, dumbass?" She asked him dryly and he shot her an annoyed look.

"Is that so?" He asked a tiny bit annoyed. "Because you just avoided me for two days after you told me that." He said and she giggled.

"I wasn't avoiding _you_. I was avoiding Stefan. Not my fault if you don't bother to come see me." She smirked at him and he scowled at her.

"I _did_ go see you but you weren't there." He said and she chuckled at him being all weird about it.

"So... you couldn't have called and asked where I was?" She teased him and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"This is all new to me, you know. I don't know all of the 'relationship etiquette' crap." He said while he glared at the ceiling and she giggled then leaned down and kissed his cheek.

"I love you." She whispered then kissed his ear. "I love you." She whispered again then kissed his chin. "I love you." She giggled and he couldn't help cracking a laugh at her being silly then Caroline found herself pinned to the bed on her back with him on top of her. "Got you to not be mad at me anymore." She teased and he rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't _mad_." He said and she smirked.

"No, you're just totally jealous and insecure and very cute when you pout." She teased and he deadpanned which made her giggle. "It's nice that I'm not the _only_ one who gets jealous and insecure though." She said and he looked confused.

"_You_ get jealous and insecure about _me_?" He asked her sceptically and honestly a little bit of disbelief. Damon couldn't believe she would ever have anything to be insecure about with him because he was _so _into her. Caroline just chuckled a little.

"Yeah, all the time. I'm just not a big baby about it like you are." She smirked and he shot her an annoyed look. She ran her hands up his sides then. "Now, I haven't gotten any in a while, so can we get to it?" She chuckled and his jaw dropped.

"You... oh, I see." He said annoyed. "You have time to play pool and go hunting with Stefan but you come to see _me_ just to get laid." He said and she laughed loudly in disbelief that he just _said _that... so she couldn't help mocking him a little for it.

"Totally." She teased and he looked appalled.

"What?" He asked in disbelief and she giggled.

"Nobody does it like _you_ do it." She winked and he just gaped at her which made her laugh again.

"Are you joking?" He blinked rapidly and she chuckled.

"What that nobody does it like you do it? No." She said amused and he just stared at her.

"Is that really all..." He trailed off and she saw the confusion and hurt all over his face and she felt kind of bad. She was starting to see that he dished out jokes because he clearly couldn't take them. She flipped their positions which visibly annoyed him but she just cupped his cheek softly and looked at him with all of the love she had for him.

"It's true that you are out of this world in the sack... but... I'd rather spend time with _you_ than everyone else I know put together. I _love _you and I was only teasing. I was avoiding coming here because I made a deal with Stefan that I wouldn't utter a single word to him for three days if he made himself scarce the night of the roof thing. I knew I wouldn't be able to control my urge to yap if I came here so... I didn't. I thought maybe if I completed the deal, maybe he'd be willing to do it again so we could be alone more often." She explained and Damon felt like a total dumbass.

"Oh." He said and she saw on his face that he felt stupid.

"I missed you though." She said softly. "I love sleeping next to you. I don't sleep well now without you." She smiled. Damon looked at her in contemplation then and she saw that he was thinking over something though she saw that he was nervous.

"So... why don't you... uh... just stay then?" He asked her and she looked at him confused.

"Tonight? I fully intend to." She said and he looked at her a little worriedly which confused her even more.

"No, not tonight... every night." He said and she looked surprised. Was he? No... he couldn't be...

"Are you asking me to live in the boarding house?" She asked him curiously and he took kind of a deep breath.

"Yes." He nodded. Internally she was _shocked_ that he wanted her around that much. In all fairness, she spent practically every day there anyway. Her mother knew where she was sleeping and she didn't seem worried so she didn't figure it would be a problem. She realised she'd been quiet for a while.

"Do you mean in this room? With you? Or... a different room and I just bunk in here sometimes?" She asked.

"With me, obviously." He said immediately and her stomach fluttered.

"Want me to be completely honest?" She asked him and he kind of froze a little then nodded. Caroline couldn't understand how he could possibly be _this _insecure about her considering how many times she'd told him that she loved him that evening already. "Honestly, I'd love that." She said to him and he looked surprised and relieved and he gave her a smile. Caroline gathered he'd expected her to say no. "But have you really thought about this?" She asked him sceptically and he looked at her confused. Was she kidding?

"You're practically here every night anyway and you have been for like over two months." He said and she nodded.

"But you're basically asking me to move in with you, ie. all my stuff." She smirked at him and he chuckled.

"I'm not painting the room some ridiculous colour but I like the idea of it being _our_ room instead of mine." He replied honestly and she laughed a little at the colour comment.

"Lilac?" She teased and he laughed.

"No." He said amused.

"That's alright. I like your room anyway." She shrugged.

"You don't want to change _anything_?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and she chuckled.

"Yeah, obviously, but one thing at a time." She winked at him and he laughed a little.

"Like what?" He smirked.

"Like the man whore bed." She said and he laughed loudly.

"Well... we could always... live somewhere else." He said to her and she looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, this is a boarding house. We could get something else together." He shrugged and internally she was shocked. She kind of understood in that moment that Damon was _in_ when it came to their relationship. Completely and totally _in_.

"Don't you think it's kind of silly to get somewhere together when this house is big enough for half the town to live in?" She asked and he chuckled.

"Well, Stefan and I have actually talked about selling this place recently." Damon admitted and Caroline was seriously surprised.

"Really? Why?" She asked.

"Because neither of us wants to ever come back to this town when we finally leave it." Damon replied and Caroline could understand that. She felt the same way. "There's a guy in town that came into a really large inheritance who asked if we'd be interested in selling as he wants to turn it into like a B&B." Damon explained.

"Well... what kind of place would you be talking about? Like an apartment or a house or what?" She asked.

"Not an apartment. I don't do well with neighbours." He smirked and she laughed a little.

"So, somewhere kind of like this in the sense that it's on the outskirts and kind of secluded?" She asked.

"Mmhmm." He nodded.

"We'd need that with Stefan bringing girls back anyway." Caroline said thoughtfully as she considered that and Damon gave her a confused look.

"Why would Stefan bring girls there?" Damon asked her.

"He's been doing it for months." She pointed out and that's when Damon clicked.

"He's _so_ not living with us." Damon said and she looked surprised.

"Why? You can't just leave him alone." Caroline said.

"He's 163, yes I can." Damon said like it was totally obvious.

"You want to just ditch him?" Caroline asked Damon confused and Damon could see that she was kind of horrified by that idea and he sighed and rolled his eyes.

"If you're that worried about him, he can get something nearby. He's not going to want to live with us anyway considering there wouldn't be the same distance between our bedrooms." Damon smirked and Caroline chuckled.

"Well, if Stefan is up for that then so am I." She nodded and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why is Stefan such a big consideration?" Damon asked confused.

"Because he's your brother and my friend and he'll never get his humanity back if he thinks we just abandoned him." Caroline said and Damon sighed. She kind of had a point. Damon was having a serious moment of insecurity and he couldn't help it so he blurted...

"Is that all it is?" Damon asked her softly. Caroline was kind of furious at that.

"Damon." She said annoyed. "I'm not a doppelganger so don't even _go _there." She warned him and he was surprised at how angry she seemed to be at even the thought.

"It was just a question." He replied.

"We haven't been together that long so I understand it will take a while for you to completely trust me but if there is anything you can always trust it's that a) I don't do brothers, b) I don't do more than one person at a time and c) I will kick your ass if you ask me that again." She said to him and he was kind of surprised. "I've told you that I love you like a hundred times tonight. Why don't you believe me?" She asked confused. Damon realised that he was going back on their agreement to be drama free already. He realised that his paranoia was getting the best of him and was causing problems that didn't exist and he had to stop it.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I just love you and I don't want to lose you." He admitted and she nodded.

"I understand that." She replied. "But as sappy and ridiculous as this sounds, I'm pretty sure I'll still be this much in love with you in like a thousand years so you really have nothing to worry about." She muttered embarrassed and he blinked rapidly and his stomach fluttered as he tried to comprehend that.

"Do you mean that?" He asked and she saw how stunned he was by her saying that.

"Yes." She nodded then he crashed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back though she really wished she hadn't said that. She thought he'd no doubt over think that and it would freak him out.

She didn't realise that it was exactly what Damon wanted to hear.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

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><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 8

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><p>Stefan was all for the moving plan. He said that he'd just wait until Damon and Caroline found a place then he'd get something small nearby. Caroline had talked to him about it as she didn't think Damon would be nice about it all. They went and saw a few houses and either Damon liked it and Caroline didn't or vice versa or it was too small or too big. Damon started to slowly pack up the boarding house. Some things he wanted to keep or Stefan did but anything neither of them wanted he arranged to be sold and they just split the money for it.<p>

Six weeks later, Caroline darted into the boarding house with a grin on her face and Damon was surprised to see how gleeful she was. She ran over to him and kissed him and he chuckled against her mouth.

"What?" He asked her amused wanting to know what was up with her.

"Come with me." She grinned then took his hand and practically dragged him out of the house.

* * *

><p>Caroline was tight lipped on where they were going but Damon was highly amused by how excited she was. They drove through the woods then she took a slip road and drove for about half a mile and they came to a large blue house.<p>

"Why didn't you just say that we were going to look at a house?" Damon asked her curiously and she grinned at him.

"We aren't looking at it. I already looked at it." She said excitedly and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Then..." He urged her to explain.

"That is our house." She grinned.

"You like that one?" He asked and she nodded.

"So will you. But I already bought it." She said and his jaw dropped.

"What?" He asked in disbelief.

"It's _perfect_, Damon. It has everything you want, everything I want, it's not too small, it's not too big, behind the house is a lake, there's a porch _and _a deck area. And what will no doubt be your favourite part..." She grinned. "There's an outdoor hot tub." She said and he chuckled.

"You just _bought _it?" He asked her confused and she nodded.

"Yeah, there was someone else there to see it at the same time and he was going to buy it so I had to buy it first so I didn't have time to come get you, though I did compel the owner to let me have it for the same price the other buyer was going to pay instead of the increase." She smirked and he laughed.

"Okay... but... _how _did you buy it?" He asked her still confused and she clicked.

"Oh. I'm kind of loaded." She replied and he laughed at her choice of words.

"Loaded?" He asked.

"Mmhmm. My grandma left me a rather large inheritance so I just compelled the bank to let me have some of it early since I'm not supposed to get it until I'm 21." She said and he looked surprised. "_Anyway_, since it's ours now, want to stop looking at it from inside the car?" She teased and he chuckled.

"Alright." He said amused.

* * *

><p>Damon had to admit that he loved it. It was perfect. After they were finished looking at it, Caroline made him go down and look at the lake with her but he didn't mind.<p>

"So?" She asked him with a smile.

"The decor is hideous but other than that I love it." He smiled and she grinned then hugged him and kissed him and he was sure he would have blushed if he could have at all the kisses she was planting all over his face. But he just chuckled a little bashfully instead.

"You knew I'd redecorate anyway." She said amused.

"I know." He smiled. "Though I do love the hot tub." He conceded and she giggled.

"Mmm." She nodded. "I'm looking forward to getting you _in _the hot tub." She smirked and he chuckled.

"I already like this whole cohabiting thing." He teased and she smiled. "Though, how did I get in the house? Whose name did you put it in?" He asked.

"Mine. I'm still registered as alive so my social security number works." She smirked and he chuckled.

"But since you were dead when you bought it, it means all vampires can get in. It would be better to put it in a human's name." He said and she nodded.

"We can deal with that before we move into it." She agreed.

"I have to say, I thought I'd be buying the house." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Stop being such a Neanderthal." She smirked and he chuckled.

"Fine, my beautiful little darling." He replied amused. "Does that mean we're going fifty-fifty?" He asked and she looked at him confused.

"What's the point? I'll have to sell it in a couple of years anyway so if it makes your ego feel any better you can buy the next house." She said and he laughed. He wasn't pleased at that but he _was _pleased she thought they'd still be together in a few years.

"Are you joking?" He asked.

"No." She replied amused.

"So you want to live together for the first time in _your _house?" He asked and she chuckled in disbelief.

"How is that any different than if _you'd _bought the house and we moved in together?" She asked and he could see she had a point. "Move with the times, old man." She said and he laughed.

"Old man?" He asked amused.

"Mmhmm. You can't be an 1800s chauvinist in 2012, Damon." She said and he was highly amused by this. "Besides, it's not _my _house, it's _ours_. That's what happens when you choose to live with someone." She pointed out.

"But..." He trailed off and she sighed.

"You're annoying." She muttered and he chuckled. "Fine, you can pay for the remodelling, redecorating and all the bills then. I'd forget to pay bills anyway." She said and he smirked at that. "Does that work for you, Captain Cave Man?" She teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He said amused.

"Good. Why don't we go back up and see what we want to change?" She asked. "We could knock out the wall between the two main bedrooms and make one really huge one and use the third as like a closet and dressing room and turn the basement into like the spare bedroom." She suggested.

"Mmm." He nodded. "I like that." He agreed then took her hand and the two of them walked up to _their _house together.

* * *

><p>Just over three weeks later, Damon was sitting in a booth in the Grill by himself and he was staring into space with a scowl on his face. He was drinking his drink absently and he was surprised when Bonnie sat down across from him.<p>

"Hey." She smiled.

"Bonnie." He nodded.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Mmhmm." He replied.

"Where's Caroline?" She asked and he made an annoyed face.

"She's out at house viewings with Stefan." He muttered and Bonnie cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" Bonnie asked and Damon shrugged. "Isn't Stefan still all Ripper Stefan?" Bonnie asked confused and Damon nodded. "Why would she hang out with him then?" She asked.

"Now _that _is a good question." Damon replied annoyed then took a drink of his drink and Bonnie then understood that he was jealous.

"Have you asked her?" Bonnie asked.

"She just got pissed at me and told me not to ask her about Stefan again or she would, quote, kick my ass." He muttered and Bonnie looked surprised.

"So she's trying to be friends with him even though he has no humanity at the moment?" Bonnie asked and Damon shrugged.

"Who the hell knows? She won't talk to me about it." He said.

"Why is Stefan looking at houses anyway?" Bonnie asked.

"Because apparently, it has to be close to us." Damon replied with an eye roll and Bonnie looked confused.

"But... why is he moving out of the boarding house?" Bonnie asked and Damon's jaw dropped.

"She hasn't _told _you?" Damon asked shocked. He was quite hurt by that considering they'd decided to move in together over nine weeks earlier and were currently in the process of remodelling the house Caroline bought.

"Told me what?" Bonnie asked.

"Typical." Damon muttered annoyed. "Well, we're moving into a house together." Damon said and Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

"I can't believe Caroline didn't tell you that." Damon replied and Bonnie saw that he was hurt and confused by that.

"Damon, what's wrong?" She asked him softly and he sighed and ran his hand over his face.

"I can't tell you. You're her best friend." Damon said.

"You _can _tell me. I won't ever repeat anything you say." Bonnie said and he gave her a sceptical look. "I promise." She said sincerely.

"I can't deal with this." Damon shook his head.

"With what?" She asked and he glanced around the Grill for any supernatural hearing and he saw nobody there.

"I am _so _in love with her." Damon said and Bonnie smiled a little at him saying that. "I've never felt like this before. I'm... just... consumed by her. I can't think about anything else... and she spends more time with Stefan than me. She... this moving in together thing is like a big deal and she didn't even tell _you_ about it. I don't understand." He admitted and Bonnie was internally a little stunned at him feeling like that and _opening up_ about it. "I have no idea what to do about all of this because she spends all this time with Stefan but I don't get why and she won't tell me why. She has some kind of little plan regarding him but she won't tell me about that either... but Stefan is still behaving the same way with everyone else _but _her. When he looks at her... I sometimes think he might actually be feeling again. He's different with her. It was fine before when he was just pissed at her nagging at him but now... he _never _gets pissed at her anymore. He _wants _to spend time with her. I haven't seen a dead body in the house for like ten weeks." He admitted and Bonnie was surprised at that. "She told me that she loves me and she only wants me but... I don't exactly have an excellent track record when it comes to competing with Stefan." He mumbled then took a drink. He couldn't believe he just _said _all of that out loud.

"But you aren't competing with Stefan this time, Damon." Bonnie said sincerely. "Whenever I see her, all she talks about is you. Every time I touch her I get the odd flash about what she's thinking about and it's practically always you." She said and Damon looked surprised then Bonnie giggled. "It's like 80% you and about 20% shoes." She said and Damon couldn't help laughing at that.

"It's kind of unhealthy how much she talks about shoes too, you know." Damon smirked and Bonnie laughed.

"She's always been like that." Bonnie said fondly.

"Well... if she does feel like that, why is she spending so much time with Stefan?" Damon asked.

"I've asked her about what Stefan's like with her since she's at the boarding house all the time and she doesn't talk to me about him either. I can give you my opinion if that counts." She said and Damon nodded. "As much as she's ditsy, she can be very observant." She said and Damon nodded again as he'd noticed that too. "She must have noticed that he's being different with her. If you think he's feeling a tiny bit, Caroline might be spending time with him in the hopes that'll go from a tiny bit to completely. If Stefan is willingly spending time with her, maybe he trusts her and she might be trying to build that trust so that he'll let her help him feel again." Bonnie said and Damon had to admit she had kind of a good opinion on it.

"But you really think that's all it is?" Damon asked her hesitantly. "You don't think she likes him more than a friend?" He asked.

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "I think Caroline has two great loves of her life." She smirked. "You... and shoes." Bonnie said and Damon laughed again.

"I can deal with her loving shoes." He smirked.

"I don't think you'll ever have anything to worry about with her." Bonnie said sincerely. "Besides, Caroline would never cheat." She said.

"It's not so much the cheating that would hurt... it would be feeling for someone else. _Especially_, Stefan." Damon admitted.

"They hung out a lot after she turned and she's said several times that she wished he was her brother. So I doubt that'll ever happen." Bonnie said and Damon looked surprised but kind of pleased.

"I can deal with her seeing him like a brother." He smirked and she laughed a little at that. "Though, as petty as it sounds, I'd rather she didn't like him at all." He said and she nodded.

"I know." She replied. "If I were you, I wouldn't like it either." She said surprising him. "But Caroline can sometimes forget about other people if she's on a mission. Like when she was helping Tyler at first, she practically ignored everyone else. She just needs a little reminder." Bonnie said.

"But saying something about it just pisses her off." Damon reminded her and she laughed.

"True. But _sometimes_ a tiny bit of manipulation is needed when it comes to Caroline." She said and Damon blinked in surprise then he laughed.

"Guess you're not so judgy after all." He smirked and she giggled. "What do you mean?" He asked amused.

"Make yourself busy. Don't just _always _be there when _she's _not busy." Bonnie said and Damon smirked.

"You free tonight?" He asked and she laughed.

"Actually, yes. What did you have in mind?" She asked and he chuckled.

* * *

><p>Caroline walked into Damon's room and was surprised to find his room dark and he wasn't there. He wasn't downstairs either and that had her a little confused. She got her phone out and called him and he didn't pick up. She was even more confused then as he <em>always <em>answered when she called him. She was sure he'd be there when she came home but she decided to go check the Grill anyway. She got there and he wasn't there which confused her even more as he was always either at the Grill or in the boarding house. She saw Ric at the bar and she wandered up to him.

"Hey." She said to him and he smiled at her.

"Hey, Caroline. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good, you?" She asked.

"Same." He smiled.

"Have you seen Damon?" She asked curiously.

"No, I called him earlier to ask if he wanted to go for a drink but he said he was busy." He shrugged then he saw the confused look all over Caroline's face.

"Busy doing what? He didn't tell me he was busy." She said and Ric looked surprised. He'd kind of noticed that Damon and Caroline were basically joined at the hip now so he was surprised that Damon wouldn't tell her what he was up to.

"He said he was going to the movies. I just assumed it was with you so I didn't ask who with." Ric replied and her jaw dropped.

"What? Who the hell would he go to the movies with?" Caroline asked shocked. "He doesn't like anyone but you and me in this town." She said confused.

"Have you tried calling him?" Ric asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, he didn't pick up." Caroline said.

"That's weird. He always picks up." Ric said confused.

"That's what I thought too." Caroline said nervously. "Oh my God. He's totally cheating on me." She said shocked and Ric's eyes widened. Damon would be _pissed _at him for helping Caroline reach that conclusion.

"No, he'd never cheat on you in a million years, Caroline." Ric said sincerely because he honestly believed that. He'd been surprised at just _how _devoted Damon was to her considering he was _Damon_. "Maybe he went by himself. You know he's kind of a weirdo." Ric said. "You don't have any proof that he's doing anything so don't accuse him of that." He said and she nodded.

"Fine, but I have to go see for myself then." She said annoyed and turned on her heel and left the Grill before Ric could stop her and he groaned. Damon was going to go _nuts _at him.

* * *

><p>Both Damon and Bonnie were surprised at how much they were enjoying each other's company. They went for food then went to see a movie. The movie ended and they were both laughing and joking and Bonnie was surprised that Damon could <em>be <em>like this but she really liked it. She was really hoping this meant they were friends now.

"This was great." Bonnie smiled.

"You are surprisingly fun for a judgy little witch." He winked at her and she smirked at him.

"And you are surprisingly fun for a stone cold killer." She teased and he shot her a look.

"I'm not a stone cold killer." He said and she chuckled.

"And I'm not judgy." She said and he smirked.

"Touché, Bonnie." He smiled and she laughed.

"I'll get you outside." She said motioning that she was going to the ladies' room and he nodded then she went into the bathroom and he went out the doors to the lobby and lounged against the wall as he waited for Bonnie. He glanced around a little and his jaw dropped at the sight of an annoyed looking Caroline sitting in one of the seats with her arms crossed over her chest. Damon clicked straight away. He knew what she was thinking and that hurt. He walked over to her and she noticed his defeated expression.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked her and she stood up.

"Who are you with?" She asked him annoyed and he shook his head in disbelief.

"You think I'm cheating on you." He said emotionlessly.

"Aren't you?" She asked and he chuckled humourlessly in disbelief.

"So, you are basically allowed to do whatever the hell you want with whoever the hell you want but I can't even go to the movies _once_ without you thinking I'm cheating on you?" He asked her annoyed. Damon knew he was close to losing his temper. Caroline bit her lip a little knowing that if he _had _been cheating on her he would no doubt have been trying to get her out of the lobby before whoever he was with walked through. "So am I supposed to just sit in the house and wait for you while you're off doing whatever you want? I asked you _once _about Stefan and you were furious at me and I haven't brought it up again even though you spend more time with him than you do with me. This is beyond unfair. Go home, Caroline. To your mother's house. Before I lose my temper and say something that I don't mean." He glared at her and her jaw dropped then he turned on his heel and walked back over to the door he'd come out of and he lounged against the wall and waited for Bonnie. Caroline was stunned at everything he said and she felt _really _bad. Before she could go over and apologise, Bonnie came through the door and Damon moved away from the wall. Bonnie didn't notice Caroline and Damon didn't say anything to her about it and the two of them left while Caroline watched shocked. He went to the movies with _Bonnie_? She felt _so _stupid.

* * *

><p>Bonnie noticed Damon was quiet in the car.<p>

"You alright?" Bonnie asked.

"Caroline was in the lobby waiting for me because she somehow found out I was at the movies so she thought she'd come catch me cheating on her." Damon replied annoyed and Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"What?" Bonnie asked in disbelief. "She thought that?" She asked shocked. Bonnie had realised weeks earlier that Damon no longer even _noticed _other women let alone anything else so she was stunned that Caroline would think that.

"Mmhmm." Damon nodded. "First thing out of her mouth was 'who are you with?'" He said and Bonnie shook her head.

"That's really crap of her. Especially, after all the time she's been spending with Stefan." Bonnie said shocked.

"I know I was a dick to her when we met but we've been together for like five months and I haven't even _looked _at anyone... there's _never _going to be anyone else. Why can't she see that?" He asked defeated and Bonnie saw that he was really hurt.

"I'm not defending her, because I think she was totally out of line, okay?" Bonnie asked and he nodded. "But in her mind... Tyler cheated on her. Matt was in love with Elena while he was with her. Her boyfriend before she met you cheated on her. I think she just... expects it, to a degree." Bonnie said and Damon _could _understand that. "She's naturally insecure, neurotic and paranoid... All of that would have heightened after becoming a vampire." She said.

"I get that history makes us paranoid and she can only go by what I say because she obviously doesn't know that in my head there's just her... but it still sucks." He said.

"What are you going to do?" Bonnie asked and he sighed.

"Drink." He muttered and she chuckled.

"Alcohol is a depressant, you know. It won't make you feel better." She said and he smirked.

"True but the _amount _I drink kills all brain function so I don't have to think about it." He said and she laughed a little.

"Hmm... Sounds good." Bonnie agreed and he smirked. "Want company?" She asked and he chuckled.

"Sure. Why do you want to kill brain function?" Damon asked.

"You know I gave Jer another chance, right?" Bonnie asked and Damon nodded.

"What did he do?" Damon asked cocking an eyebrow.

"I stayed with him last night and this morning he went downstairs to get food and I noticed his pillow had something on it and I picked it up to look and there sitting under his pillow was a picture of him and Anna kissing." Bonnie said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"He's an idiot." Damon muttered. "Want me to kill him for you?" He asked and she laughed a little.

"No." She said amused but in his own twisted way she knew that was a nice thing for him to say.

"Not like it'd be permanent." He winked at her and she chuckled.

"No, that's okay. Thank you anyway." She said amused.

"Bonnie... I'm not very good at all of this stuff... but, he shouldn't be keeping pictures of him and Anna if he's with you. That's just shit of him." He said and Bonnie smiled a little at him trying to be nice about it all. "Besides, you are _way _too hot for baby Gilbert." He said and she chuckled.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"You dumped the child for that, right?" He asked and she giggled at the 'child' part.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Good. Why didn't you say anything earlier? I've been rambling on like a girl about Barbie all night." He said and she chuckled.

"It was nice to think about something else other than Jeremy being an idiot." She said. "It's all I thought about all day so it was nice to be busy tonight." She added and he smirked.

"Well... since I'm pissed at Blondie and you dumped baby Gilbert, why don't I go with you to that thing you're going to in D.C. tomorrow?" He asked and she looked surprised then smiled.

"You'd go to a True Blood fan convention?" She giggled and he chuckled.

"It'll be ironic." He smirked at her and she laughed. "Besides, I'll compel you into the VIP areas so you can meet the actors and stuff." He teased and she grinned.

"Well, you can't _not _go now." She teased and he laughed. "Though are you going to stay overnight? The next day is the Supernatural convention so I'm staying." She said.

"Why the hell not?" He smirked. "We'll come back BFFs." He teased and she laughed.

"I don't doubt it." She said amused and he chuckled. "Are you going to tell Caroline?" She asked.

"Nope. She can just sit and think about this for a couple of days. _I _didn't do anything wrong for once so why should _I _sit around miserable waiting for her to come to her senses?" He asked and she nodded.

"True." She replied.

"Ooh, is the Pam vampire actress going to be there?" He smirked and she laughed.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 9

* * *

><p>Caroline barely slept. She'd slept with Damon every night since they'd decided to move in together so she wasn't used to sleeping alone anymore. She knew she'd overreacted and she'd thought it over and she hung out with Stefan every single day, practically all day. She knew that she was being totally unfair. She hadn't realised how much time she'd been spending with him... but every day he was a miniscule bit nicer. Every day he felt a miniscule bit more. She felt he was making progress and she felt useful knowing she was doing something to help... but she realised she'd totally taken Damon for granted and it was true – apart from that one time, he never made a single comment about it because she'd told him not to because she'd be angry at him.<p>

He was always there to see her whenever she wanted to and he'd been right the night before. The _one _time he wasn't there – she accused him of cheating. She realised that she was being a _terrible _girlfriend to him but he was being an _amazing _boyfriend all the time. It only made her feel worse... so, she decided to go and tell him how sorry she was and that she'd never do that again and that she'd try harder. She'd just gotten so wrapped up in the Stefan drama that she hadn't realised that she was totally taking Damon for granted.

She hurried over to the boarding house after she showered and dressed. She walked in and found Stefan in the living room with a _glass _of blood and a book. Internally she was so pleased at that considering there were no live humans in the house that he was feeding from – but she didn't say anything or pretend that she noticed.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Morning, Yappy." He smirked and she rolled her eyes at the name he kept calling her.

"Damon up in his room?" She asked and Stefan shook his head and looked at her confused.

"He left this morning." Stefan said and Caroline blinked rapidly.

"What do you mean he left?" Caroline asked confused.

"He said he was going to D.C. for the night and would be back either tomorrow night or the following day. I thought he was going with you." Stefan said confused and Caroline's jaw dropped.

"Oh, God. I seriously screwed up." She muttered and he looked more confused.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"I accused him of cheating on me." Caroline said and Stefan's jaw dropped.

"Why?" He asked. "Damon would never in a million years cheat on you." Stefan said and Caroline looked at him confused.

"Why is _everyone _telling me that?" Caroline asked.

"Because Damon's embarrassingly sapped out in love with you to the point it's like no other women even exist and it's _so obvious_ to like _everyone_. You're all he ever talks about. Where would you get the idea that he'd ever cheat on you?" Stefan asked and Caroline's eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't know he felt like that." Caroline said wiping her eyes.

"How could you _not _know?" Stefan asked confused. "All he ever wants to do now is be with you." He said and Caroline sobbed a little.

"I'm just insecure. He doesn't tell me stuff like that." Caroline said.

"Caroline, he doesn't need to say it. It's written all over his face every time he looks at you." Stefan said. "I've never seen my brother have it remotely this bad before. It's kind of embarrassing to be related to him to be honest. He's _so_ whipped." Stefan muttered then took a gulp of his blood from his glass. If Caroline felt bad _before _she felt even _worse_ now.

* * *

><p>Caroline went over to Bonnie's house and nobody was home. She'd figured maybe Bonnie would know why the hell he was in D.C. considering she'd been with him the night before and he wasn't answering her calls. She didn't want to see Elena so she decided to just call Jeremy instead of going over there.<p>

"_Hey, Caroline._" He answered.

"Hey, Jer. Is Bonnie there with you?" Caroline asked.

"_Uh... Bonnie and I broke up yesterday._" He replied and Caroline's jaw dropped. She now kind of understood the whole sudden Damon and Bonnie friendship considering she'd been too busy with Stefan to notice anything else.

"Oh. Well... you wouldn't have any idea where she is anyway would you?" Caroline asked.

"_She's in D.C. today and tomorrow for those conventions she wanted to go to._" Jeremy replied and Caroline realised then that Damon had obviously gone with her.

"Oh. Any idea what hotel she's staying at?" Caroline asked.

"_No, sorry, Caroline, I don't._" Jeremy replied.

"Okay, thanks, Jer. You okay?" She asked.

"_Not really, but I will be. Things weren't working out anyway._" He said.

* * *

><p>Damon and Bonnie had a blast at the True Blood convention. A lot of the actors in the show were there and Damon and Bonnie met all of them thanks to Damon compelling them everywhere. Damon was surprised that Bonnie was okay with all of that but he was realising that he was wrong to judge her. He'd basically done what he'd accused her of doing and he was glad that he was finally getting to know her.<p>

Bonnie had found it funny though – a real vampire at a fake vampire convention. She laughed out loud at the thought a few times considering Damon kept making hilarious snarky comments about it. Bonnie discovered that Damon was like the best person _ever _to hang out with when a little down because he was so much fun and he made her laugh all the time. After the convention, they went back to the hotel to change then they were going out for a few drinks and some dinner. Damon had managed to get a room in the same hotel as her and they agreed to meet in the lobby at 7pm as it was 6pm already but Bonnie wanted to shower and everything and Damon needed to feed so he was going to do that after getting changed. He let himself into his room and closed the door and turned around to find Caroline sitting on his bed. He looked at her confused.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm so sorry." She said to him sincerely. "I completely overreacted and I was wrong." She said and he nodded.

"Yeah, you were wrong. Since we got together, I've never given you any reason to ever believe there would be anyone else." He said.

"I know." She said in a small voice.

"Why would you think that then?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"You didn't tell me that you were doing anything, you didn't answer your phone and I found out from Ric that you went to the movies but you didn't tell him who you went with either... I was just paranoid." She replied. Damon realised then that it could have easily looked like that considering all of that.

"But you didn't even wait to ask me about it. You just automatically showed up to _catch _me." Damon replied and she nodded.

"I know. I'm sorry." She said guiltily. "But you have to admit, Damon, what were the chances before yesterday that you would ever be willingly at the movies with _Bonnie_?" She asked him and he chuckled.

"You have a point. You do." He agreed. "But you obviously don't trust me." He said.

"I do though. I just..." She stood up and went to stand in front of him. "Do you have any idea how much it would kill me if you _did _want someone else?" She asked him and internally, yeah, he did, because he felt the same way. "It's not that I don't trust you. I just... love you so much and I don't want to ever lose you and feeling so much is making me kind of nuts." She said and he chuckled a little considering he'd been feeling the same way.

"I know the feeling." He agreed. "But you don't see me accusing you of anything every time you're off with Stefan." He pointed out and she sighed.

"I know. I know I was totally unfair and ridiculous and a terrible girlfriend and I feel _so _bad. Please forgive me?" She asked.

"It's not about forgiveness, Caroline. I just don't understand what's going on." He said and she looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"We looked at houses for over six weeks before you bought the one we'll live in and that was like three and a half weeks ago and you didn't even tell Bonnie." He said and she looked surprised. "You won't talk to me about whatever it is you're doing with Stefan. I even asked Bonnie and she said you don't talk to her about it either. You obviously have some kind of little plan or something but you won't tell me that either. You spend more time with my brother than me and you don't tell your best friend that we're supposed to be moving in together? It's not about forgiveness. I'm just hurt." He said to her and Caroline felt _terrible_. "I'm not trying to tell you not to spend time with Stefan, so that's not what this is about. But he's _Ripper _Stefan still so I don't get how he could possibly be such good company that you spend practically all day every day with him. You make all this effort for him but none with me and I don't get why." He said and Caroline teared up because she realised she was being such an _awful _girlfriend. She turned around then and went over and sat down on the bed and motioned for him to sit too.

"I promised I wouldn't tell you but despite what it looks like, you _are_ my top priority, so Stefan can just bite me." Caroline said as she wiped her eyes. Damon looked at her confused then sat down across from her. "Stefan's starting to feel." She said. "And he's admitted it." She added and Damon's jaw dropped. "He hasn't killed anyone since the day before you and I had our roof dinner." She said and Damon looked shocked. "We made a deal for that. We've been talking about things and I've been helping him deal with all of the deaths he caused since leaving with Klaus. He doesn't want _anyone _to know about it because he's still not feeling completely and he'll just shut down again if he gets even a tiny bit of pressure about it. The last thing he wants is Elena finding out about it because he can't stand her and apparently she told him that as soon as he's feeling again she wants him back and he just wants her to leave him alone. He's feeling but not a whole lot. It's a miniscule bit more every day and he's opening up a tiny bit more each day so that's why I've been spending so much time with him. It's not that I particularly _want _to spend all that time with him, it's just, he's my friend and for once something I'm doing is helping. He's starting to trust me. I want him to feel again because he doesn't deserve to have to live in the darkness but he has to come back from it slowly otherwise he'll just go back to broody, rabbit eating, guilt ridden Stefan. So all we've been doing is getting him to come to terms with his nature so that he _doesn't _get overloaded with guilt when he's back to normal. He's working on his bloodlust so that he _doesn't _go back to animal blood but also so he doesn't black out anymore and rip people apart." She explained. Damon stared at her in shock.

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry for being paranoid." Damon said immediately.

"No, I didn't explain. I should have." Caroline said.

"I won't say anything or act any differently. Your method is obviously working." Damon added. "Don't tell him that you told me. He won't trust you then."

"Okay." Caroline agreed. "As for why I didn't tell Bonnie about the house..." She trailed off. "I wanted to wait until we got a house then when we did get one I didn't tell her in case you changed your mind." She said and he looked at her confused.

"Why would I change my mind?" He asked.

"Well... I just found out that apparently my dad is coming back to Mystic Falls soon for a little while and I've been trying to figure out how to talk to you about that and my mom's been trying to convince him not to come back. I wanted all of that resolved before telling Bonnie about the house." She said and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"He doesn't know that we're together, does he?" Damon asked and Caroline shook her head.

"I haven't spoken to him since the day he left... but... he could easily tell the council about you out of spite." She said and he nodded.

"You know I bit him because of you, right?" Damon asked her and she looked surprised. "Your mother told me I couldn't kill him when I said I was going to so I decided to scare him so he'd never hurt you again." He said and she looked stunned.

"I'm sorry." She said and he smirked.

"Girl fights are hot." He replied and she chuckled knowing he wasn't bothered about the part where she totally kicked his ass.

"My mom knows that we want to move in together and it took a _really _long time to talk her into being fine with it but she is fine with it now. She thinks my dad will go nuts though and she knows we're happy so she doesn't want him coming back because he'll just cause problems." Caroline said and he nodded.

"Well, the way I see it there are only two viable options then." Damon said.

"What are they?" Caroline asked sceptically.

"I leave Mystic Falls or I out myself to the council so he's got nothing to hold over me." Damon said and her jaw dropped.

"You would out yourself?" Caroline asked in disbelief and Damon nodded.

"Half of them know anyway considering the council is made up of me, your mother, Carol, Ric and three others." Damon shrugged.

"Have you been thinking about that?" Caroline asked confused.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it since I met your father actually." Damon replied.

"But... what if they want you to leave?" Caroline asked in a small voice and he shrugged.

"The house is on the outskirts. They wouldn't have to know that I was there." Damon replied and she looked surprised.

"You would still stay? Even if you couldn't be in town?" She asked and he smirked.

"I'm not leaving without you." He said and she couldn't help cracking a small smile.

"So you still love me even though I'm a terrible jealous girlfriend who overreacts?" She asked and he chuckled.

"You're not a terrible girlfriend." He replied. "And I'll always love you." He said and she smiled.

"So you forgive me for being a jealous tit?" She asked and he chuckled.

"On one condition." He said with a smirk.

"What condition?" She asked.

"The next time you decide to be a jealous tit, remember our conversation at the mall. I promised you something that day and I want you to remember that. I will _never _cheat on you. I will _never _do anything behind your back. I promised you that if somehow hell freezes over and I want someone else, I would tell you first. I don't break promises." He said sincerely and she nodded.

"Okay." She agreed. "Then you have to see that I will _never _want Stefan as anything other than a friend. I will _never _see him as more than that. I'm not remotely attracted to him. There is _only _you." She said.

"Okay." He replied.

"Good." She smiled. "So are we okay now?" She asked softly and he chuckled then pinned her to the bed and kissed her. She kissed him back passionately because she'd really missed him.

"Yes." He replied when he pulled away. "But I have to meet Bonnie in like an hour and I have to feed so you need to go back to Mystic Falls and make sure Stefan isn't slaughtering anyone. If I'm outing myself to the council, we can't have a bunch of bitten bodies turning up." He said and she chuckled in disbelief.

"You're sending me home?" She asked shocked and kind of amused.

"Yes." He smirked. "I'm trying to make Bonnie like me so I'm not ditching her for you just because you turned up here." He said and she laughed a little. She actually respected that.

"Why are you trying to make Bonnie like you?" She asked amused.

"Because, I've decided that I'm going to be friends with Bonnie. She's kind of cool actually." He said and she giggled.

"I know that." Caroline said amused.

"It's kind of weird how well we're getting along." Damon chuckled. "Besides, I clearly need a social life away from you since you're spending all of your time with my annoying baby brother." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe you're picking making a friend over getting laid. You're so not the guy I fell for." She teased and he laughed.

"One, I fully intend to still get laid before you go." He said and she laughed a little. "And two, I thought you'd like me making friends with her." He pointed out.

"I do." She smiled. "Did you know she and Jeremy broke up?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, she told me yesterday. Apparently, I'm not allowed to snap the little creep's neck though." He muttered and Caroline looked confused.

"Why would you?" She asked.

"Bonnie dumped him because he was keeping a picture of him and Anna kissing under his pillow." Damon replied and Caroline's jaw dropped.

"What a jerk!" She gasped and he chuckled. "I can't believe he would do that after he was lucky enough to get another shot with Bonnie!" She said annoyed.

"Mmhmm. When we get back you should take a break from ripper-sitting to hang out with her a little. She's not showing it but I think she's kind of hurt." Damon said.

"Yeah." Caroline agreed. "We should find her a sexy vampire to date." She grinned and he laughed.

"Why's that?" He asked amused.

"Well, I did that and I found the perfect person for me." She smiled and his stomach fluttered.

"Is that so?" He smirked.

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

"You think I'm perfect for you?" He asked curiously and she giggled.

"Oh, yeah. I'm totally going to marry you, be with you forever and have lots of babies with you." She said and he laughed. Internally he was experiencing a fireworks display of butterflies over what she said.

"Babies, huh? How is _that _particular impossibility going to happen?" He asked amused and she chuckled.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." She replied amused and he chuckled. "You don't seem freaked out by me saying I plan to marry you." She said and he shrugged.

"It doesn't freak me out. I'd marry you tomorrow." He said and her stomach fluttered. She smiled at him widely.

"Really?" She asked surprised. He just kissed her.

"Mmhmm." He nodded. "I don't _exactly _like the idea of some huge tacky wedding but the actual _marriage _part I like." He said.

"I wouldn't want a huge tacky wedding but I'd still want a nice one." She smirked and he chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be into the Vegas wedding." He replied amused and she giggled.

"No, not quite." She replied.

"But we should maybe figure out this little problem that is your father before we talk about this too much." He teased and she laughed a little.

"_Little _problem? You're joking right? It's a nightmare." She said.

"No, I think if I out myself in the right way it could all be okay." Damon said.

"You'll have to out me too then." She said and he looked surprised.

"Why?" He asked confused.

"Because the whole town sees us together all the time. Everyone knows we're together and have been for months." She said. "It would be better if they were _told _than they find out some other way." She pointed out.

"What about Liz, though?" He asked.

"Just don't tell her that you're doing it. That way when you tell them, she'll look shocked but obviously they won't know that it's for a different reason." She said.

"Alright." He replied. "But what if I out you too and they want us to leave?" He asked.

"Then we'll leave." She said surprising him.

"But what about Bonnie?" Damon asked her and she smiled.

"You totally like Bonnie. That's cute." She said and he chuckled. "Well, Bonnie's dad doesn't live in Mystic Falls anymore so she lives alone. She's really only got me and you now since she dumped Jeremy and she doesn't talk to Elena. She'd probably leave too." She said.

"Alright." He nodded. "I'll tell her later anyway. Speaking of that, I need to go feed." He said.

"I'll come with you after a quickie. I'm kind of hungry." She said. "Then I'll drive back home so you can have your Bonnie bonding time." She teased and he chuckled.

"You're making it sound totally lame." He pointed out.

"No, honestly, I'm really happy about it. She's been my best friend since we were little kids. I like the fact the two of you are becoming friends. It would be really awkward if you didn't like each other so I think it's great." She said.

"Mmhmm." He agreed then kissed her. "Now, you said something about a quickie?" He smirked and she laughed.

* * *

><p>Bonnie went down to the lobby to find Damon kissing Caroline and she was surprised. Just as she was walking over to them, Caroline pulled away then walked out of the hotel.<p>

"Damon?" Bonnie asked and he turned to look at her with a smile.

"You just missed Barbie." Damon said.

"I saw her. Why'd she leave?" Bonnie asked and he smirked.

"I told her that we're bonding." He said amused and she laughed.

"Fair enough." She giggled. She was quite surprised but flattered that he wouldn't ditch her for his girlfriend. She had to admit, she'd had an amazing day with him and everything he did just made her see more and more that she would no doubt end up really good friends with him. "Did you work things out then?" She smiled and he nodded.

"Yeah, she apologised for going all 'jealous psycho girlfriend' on me and promised to chill out." He smirked and she laughed. She gathered there was much more to it but that was the Damon version. She knew that he'd been kind of sappy the day before and he hadn't been like that at all that day so she figured he was back to normal. "She also explained the Stefan and house thing so we're good." He said.

"Good, I'm glad." She smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 10

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><p>They went out to dinner then sat in a little bar having a drink when Damon remembered.<p>

"Apparently Jeremy told Caroline that you broke up so I told her why. She was pissed and thinks we should find you a sexy vampire to date." He smirked and she giggled.

"Might be an idea." She agreed surprising him.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought you'd date a vampire." He said and she shrugged.

"I'm surrounded by vampires. Doesn't bother me anymore." She replied and he smirked.

"Don't tell Caroline that." He said surprising her.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"Because she'll just bug you incessantly to turn. She brings it up at least once a week." He said amused.

"Really?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"Mmhmm." Damon nodded. "She's even concocted plans for that." He said amused.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked confused.

"It wouldn't surprise me if she shows up at your house with like a 'this is why you should turn' power point some time." He chuckled and she laughed. "She's researched all these places in the world that have like _no _humans in them at _all_ that she wants to take you to live in if she could convince you to turn so that you'd _never _kill anyone and she's looked into like egg harvesting so that you could still have kids and all sorts of wacky things like finding other witches to make you a ring since she doesn't think you could make yourself one and what not." Damon said amused.

"Really?" Bonnie asked softly but it was obvious she was shocked and he nodded. "She put that much effort into it?" She asked.

"Turning someone is selfish, Bonnie. It's because _we _can't bear to lose them. You've been the constant in her life considering her father left and her mother was always too busy with work. She would do anything to talk you into it that's why she's looking into all of that."

"So what do I do?" Bonnie asked.

"You just have to tell her that you'll never turn straight out so that she can deal with that and let it go." He said. "I'll talk to her and get her to stop trying to convince you if she starts." He added. Bonnie looked at him confused as she hadn't meant it like that.

"When did I say I wouldn't, Damon?" She asked and his jaw _dropped_. "I meant 'what do I do' in the sense of like how would it work in reality." She explained.

"You _would_ turn?" He asked shocked and she shrugged.

"Yeah, why not?" She asked and she saw he looked stunned.

"But..." He said confused.

"I meant, like, I can't just tag along with a couple forever." She said and he still just stared at her.

"You're a witch. Witches don't choose to turn into vampires." He said _perplexed_.

"Witches don't normally have a vampire as their best friend. If I turned, I wouldn't have to be a witch anymore." She explained and that's when he understood.

"If this is about being used for your abilities, I can make sure you never get used for them again. I can compel everyone who knows to forget about it. You don't have to turn just to get away from it, Bonnie." Damon said sincerely and she smiled. She was quite touched by him saying that.

"It's not just about that, Damon. I don't want to be a mother. I don't want to pass this magic on. I don't want the 'normal life'. Too much has happened for that. Caroline told me that if she survives for fifty years as a vampire she's going to start tracking down bad vampires and taking them out or convincing them to stop being bad. There could be purpose in that." She shrugged and he looked at her sceptically. "But yeah, I guess the main thing is the witch part." She admitted. "It's not about being used for being a witch. It's... nose bleeds and passing out and feeling drained and ill and knowing far too much about what everyone around me thinks about. I can't touch someone without finding out their thoughts or..." She shook her head. "Damon... I just _hate _being a witch. I hate it. Most witches don't live past the age of thirty. This might surprise you but when I agreed to use all of my power to kill Klaus even though it would kill me... I decided then that if I lived through it, I'd ask you to either kill me or turn me. I just don't want to be a witch anymore. It's awful. That's why I was okay with dying. I'd _rather _die than live and be a witch." She said and Damon felt kind of awful for her and he nodded.

"Alright. If that's how you really feel, I have a few spare sun rings made by a different line in a safety deposit box in New York that you can have. I'll make sure you don't kill anyone. I'll train you properly. Caroline doesn't know enough about being a vampire to make a vampire yet. You just tell me when and I'll do it." He said and she gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Damon." She said sincerely.

"You do know your ancestors are totally going to fry me for this, right?" He smirked and she laughed.

"No, they won't. They already know my plan. That's why they won't speak to me anymore." She said and he looked surprised. He _had _wondered why. It kind of made sense.

"Witches see it as a curse." He agreed.

"It is a curse in a way." She replied. "It's hard being a vampire, isn't it?" She asked and he nodded.

"It can be. The main thing is always fighting against turning it off. I didn't know anything about being a vampire when I turned. Katherine never really gave any details at all. I turned it off eventually without even realising I'd done it because I didn't know it was possible. I will explain all of that to you in great detail so that you know what you're doing." He said.

"So how _did _you learn then?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Trial and error." Damon replied. "When I turned, Stefan was _monstrous_ and I was appalled by him so I left him. Lexi eventually found him and he learned from her but I did it all by myself. Over the years, I made _a lot _of mistakes and I killed _a lot_ of people. I met other vampires and learned bits and pieces but it took a long time to really understand what being a vampire meant." He said. "It's not common for a vampire to turn and be left to his or her own devices. Usually a vampire is made for one of four reasons. One, the obvious one, to be with them. Two, a companion, like a friend. Three, you need someone to do your dirty work. Or four, boredom. So apart from the dirty work option, as they're usually just killed off when they aren't needed anymore, a new vampire usually always has a sire. I've met plenty of vampires over the years who never killed anyone because their sire was someone with their humanity turned on who taught them well and was strict with them. So if done properly, a vampire doesn't _have _to be a killer." He said and Bonnie had been listening fascinated.

"How would you stop me from doing that then?" She asked.

"Because you'll have advance notice of your turning, something you should think about is your personality traits. The things that would be considered your 'flaws'." He said with air quotations. "As a human I was impulsive and reckless and I always felt too much about everything so all of that was magnified when I turned. But I didn't know that would happen because Katherine never explained any of that. You should think over that so you can be prepared to deal with it. If you know what they are, you can manage them. You do get used to it once you learn to manage it. I never bothered with that until very recently and you've seen firsthand what an idiot I am most of the time because of that." He smirked and she chuckled.

"What do you mean you felt too much when you were human?" She asked.

"Just that when I was annoyed it would turn to anger really easily. When I was happy I was ridiculously happy. And when I liked a girl, I'd be in love after like ten minutes." He smirked and she laughed a little. "So when I turned, instead of just anger it would be rage, if I was happy it would be like euphoria and well, you've heard me ramble on about Blondie being my everything already so I think you get the point." He said amused and she smiled. "I don't think you'll have much of a problem to be honest since your will to protect humans will be magnified. You'll want that even more so I think that'll help you control your urges a lot." He said.

"Will I want to kill?" She asked and he thought about how to word it.

"It's not like you'll be sitting on the couch watching TV and you'll suddenly feel like 'ooh I want to go kill someone' but if you're really pissed off about something, it's very satisfying. It's like a release. That and killing when feeding gives you a particular feeling that is... I can't really describe it in words. You feel like... full and sated and it's the only time a vampire ever feels that particular way. I know you probably think that sounds sick but I'm not going to lie to you." He said and she nodded. She respected that he would be brutally honest with her. "In my honest opinion, I think every vampire should kill at least _one _time just to know what it means." He said and she looked at him sceptically.

"Why?" She asked.

"Take Caroline for example. She knows what a kill feels like so in turn, she works extra hard not to kill. She doesn't want to kill. She knows when to stop. She understands the gravity of taking a life. If she had no concept of that, she could easily become a liability. She could snap. But because she knows better, she doesn't. Does that make any sense?" Damon asked.

"I get what you're saying." She nodded. "I just don't know if I can do that." She admitted and he shrugged.

"If you wanted to, I could find you a really awful human. Like a child rapist and murderer or something." He said and she screwed up her face.

"Maybe I could do _that_." She said and he chuckled.

"Mmm. The things you hear about them doing to kids make me loopy." He agreed and she looked at him in surprise.

"Have you ever killed a kid?" She asked and he shot her a look.

"No, of course not. I'm not completely evil." He said to her and she chuckled.

"So that's something that really bothers you then?" She asked and he nodded.

"I've hunted down and killed _plenty_ of paedophiles." He said and she looked surprised. "I know it's kind of weird considering I'm 165 and my girlfriend is 18 but there's a difference. I was 19 when I died so I'm still quite young in the head in some ways." He said and Bonnie looked surprised.

"You were only nineteen?" She asked and he nodded. "But it _is _totally different though. Caroline's an adult." She shrugged. "I'll think about it." She said and he nodded.

"I'm tracking one at the moment. I'm going to go kill him at some point in the next week once I find him." He admitted and she looked surprised that he would tell her that.

"What's he done?" She asked sceptically.

"Killed three little girls. One was five and the other two were six. Didn't you see it on the news?" Damon asked and she remembered it then.

"Oh, God. Yeah, I remember seeing that. That guy is sick." She said with a grimace.

"Mmhmm." Damon agreed.

"Does Caroline know you're doing that?" Bonnie asked.

"No." He shook his head. "She'd want me to compel him to turn himself in instead of killing him but people like him can't be 'corrected' by going to jail." He said. "I'll tell her once I've done it though." He shrugged.

"They have special jails for them so the other inmates don't attack them for being sick. Because it's against their so-called human rights. I think if you do things like that, your rights should be forfeited." She said and he smirked at her.

"I completely agree. Though I'd just kill them all." He said.

"Is it just child molesters you track?" She asked curiously and he shrugged.

"No." He smirked.

"Serial killers?" She asked and he chuckled.

"That would just be hypocritical, don't you think?" He asked and she chuckled. "Rapists, wife beaters, anything I hear about that _really _pisses me off." He shrugged.

"Wife beaters?" She asked curiously and he shrugged.

"It's just something that infuriates me." He replied.

"Not that I don't agree but why?" She asked.

"My father used to beat my mother." Damon replied and Bonnie looked surprised. "He was about an inch taller than me but she was a tiny petite woman. Probably about five foot one. He'd get drunk and just hit her for no reason and she couldn't defend herself. Back then it was acceptable." He muttered.

"That's terrible." Bonnie agreed.

"He stopped when I was nine and I smacked him on the head with croquet club though." Damon smirked and she chuckled.

"Good." She replied. "Is that why you didn't fight back?" She asked and Damon knew what she meant.

"I did a little. I threw her off me and pinned her to the desk by the throat considering a baby vamp was kicking my ass but it's not like I was going to _hit _her." He said and Bonnie smirked.

"Did she kick your ass?" Bonnie asked and he chuckled.

"Well and truly." Damon replied amused and she laughed a little.

"But she's a vampire... why _wouldn't _you fight back?" Bonnie asked curiously and he shrugged.

"Because a) I have a significant advantage over her and she wouldn't have been able to kick my ass if I hadn't let her, b) I deserved it and c) it was a long time coming from her." He said surprising Bonnie. She understood then that he'd let Caroline kick his ass for everything he'd done when she was human. "That and I know I didn't show it but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for her. I wasn't _actually _going to stake her when she turned. I just wanted Stefan to take over being her sire." Damon said and Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"Does Caroline know that?" Bonnie asked and he shook his head.

"I kind of avoid talking about any of that with her so she doesn't get reminded of what a dick I was and dump my ass." Damon said and she chuckled.

"You really do totally adore her, huh?" Bonnie smiled fondly and he smirked.

"It's quite unhealthy how much, to be honest." He replied.

"Out of curiosity, what _would _you do if she dumped you?" Bonnie asked and Damon thought about it.

"In a 'she'd never ever take me back' kind of way?" He asked and she nodded. "I'd meet the sun probably." He replied and her jaw dropped.

"What?" She asked shocked.

"I couldn't handle being _that _miserable forever." He replied. "I told you that I felt too much as a human and I've never loved anyone as much as her so if I lost her I don't think I could cope with that." He explained. "But don't tell her that. That'll freak her out." He said.

"It's freaking _me_ out. You really feel like you couldn't live without her?" Bonnie asked and he nodded.

"I _can't _turn it off anymore. It's not possible. If I could turn it off for a few decades and give myself time to get over it then that would be different but I _can't_." He said. "But that would be a last resort anyway. I'd like... I don't know... Buy her all the shoes in the world to get her back first." He smirked and she laughed a little. "But she told me earlier that she wants to marry me so I'm not worried about that at the moment." He said amused and Bonnie looked surprised.

"_Would _you get married?" Bonnie asked with a giggle.

"Like I told her, I'd marry her tomorrow." He shrugged and Bonnie smiled.

"You're like a total sap now." She said and he laughed.

"I know. It's ridiculous, isn't it?" He asked amused and she laughed at him admitting it.

* * *

><p>Five days later, Damon was at a weekly council meeting. Everyone looked beyond bored. He opted to sit in the seat nearest the exit in case one of them had any kind of weapon. He'd already talked himself into the fact he could under <em>no <em>circumstances snap. Under _no _circumstances would he lose his temper. He was going to be calm and nice and convince them he isn't a threat to them. He only had to convince three people. Kenneth Fell. Margaret Thomas. Daniel Sawyer. Easy peasy.

Okay... admittedly... he was kind of nervous. He actually didn't _want _to leave Mystic Falls yet. He wanted to live in that blue house with his Barbie and be friends with Bonnie and Ric and just finish the Mystic Falls experience as he knew it would be the last time he'd live in this town. Before he had time to finish preparing himself he heard Daniel...

"Lastly, Damon, do you have anything to add?" Daniel asked. Damon was always asked last considering he was the head of the council.

"I do, actually." He replied and they all looked kind of surprised considering he hardly _ever _had anything to add. "I have something I have to tell you." He said and they all looked at him curiously.

"What's going on, Damon?" Ric asked.

"Well, I think it's about time I told all of you the truth." Damon said and Ric and Liz looked at him kind of apprehensively. "I'm a vampire." He said and every jaw in the room dropped and there was just _silence_. Ric and Liz were staring at him in disbelief that he just outed himself!

"Are you joking?" Carol asked him and he shot her an amused look.

"You're playing dumb, Carol?" He asked amused. "You've known about this for over six months." He said and Daniel, Margaret and Kenneth stared at Carol shocked and she looked highly uncomfortable.

"You're serious?" Kenneth asked him and he nodded.

"But... how? You... go out in the sun." Margaret said. Damon was actually quite pleased that they weren't afraid. They'd been around him regularly for _ages_ so he figured they weren't afraid of him. Damon held up his left hand.

"My ring protects me from the sun." He said to them.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused. There was a patch of direct sunlight about a foot over from Damon so he took his ring off and put it on the table next to him then stuck his hand in the sun and they all saw it burn a little then he pulled it back and put his ring back on again.

"You really are a vampire." Daniel said quietly and stunned and Damon nodded.

"I am." He replied.

"Why are you telling us this now then?" Margaret asked.

"Honestly? Because I've been thinking about telling you from day one but my decision was hurried along because Bill Forbes is planning to out me and I'd rather you heard it from me than him." He said.

"How does he know?" Kenneth asked confused. "Liz, did you know?" He asked.

"Liz didn't know." Damon said and internally Liz was shocked at him lying. So was Carol. "Basically, Caroline is a vampire too and Bill tortured her." He said and they all looked stunned again.

"What?" Liz asked in disbelief that he was outing her too.

"But... I've been around her. She doesn't act..." Margaret trailed off.

"I think I really need to explain the truth about vampires before you'll understand exactly how this is all possible." Damon said and they nodded for him to continue. "Vampires have like an inner 'switch' for lack of a better term. The switch allows a vampire to turn off their emotions and their humanity. When that's off, that's when you get the vampires that the council records document. When it's not, vampires aren't like that. When it's not, vampires have all the same feelings as humans do, they don't tend to kill or cause any problems." He said.

"Well that actually makes sense." Daniel agreed. "You never come across as what the records document." He said.

"I'm not now. I have been like that before though. I won't lie. When I turned I knew nothing about being a vampire. I was never told anything about it from the vampire that turned me. So I didn't know about the switch and it happened by accident. But that's why I hunt those vampires now. I want this town to be safe just as much as you do and for some reason, supernaturals are drawn here. So when vampires like that show up here, I take them out because it's much easier for me to do it." He said.

"So Caroline isn't killing people?" Margaret asked. Liz just looked like she was going to faint that Damon was telling the council about this though to the others it looked like she was trying to comprehend the fact that her daughter was a vampire.

"No, she's never killed anyone." Damon lied. Liz knew that to be a lie but she was hardly going to say that. Ric was just staring at Damon shocked. He couldn't _believe _that Damon was telling them all!

"Really?" Daniel asked surprised and Damon nodded.

"How long have you been a vampire?" Kenneth asked.

"147 years." Damon replied and they looked shocked.

"What do you mean Bill tortured her?" Margaret asked confused.

"He's done some kind of weird mind control thing so he thought by torturing her with sunlight he could get her to stop needing blood to survive." Damon said with an eye roll. "He's an idiot." He muttered and Liz's lip twitched with amusement at that.

"His own daughter though?" Daniel asked confused.

"Like I said, he's an idiot." Damon said and they chuckled a little.

"But why would he want to out you?" Kenneth asked.

"Honestly? Because I was beyond furious that he tortured her for _days_. I tried to compel him to forget that she was a vampire so he couldn't hurt her again but because of the mind control thing that I told you he's done, he can't be compelled. _So _he then threatened me so I bit him to scare him a little and it worked. He left. But he's apparently coming back so I wasn't going to take any chances." Damon said.

"You bit Bill?" Liz asked shocked and Damon nodded.

"Mmhmm. He threatened not only me but Caroline too so..." Damon shrugged. "I might be a total ass but Caroline is still the sweetheart she was before she turned and he has no right to threaten her. She never does _anything _to hurt _anyone_ and it isn't fair to her." He said. "She's afraid of him so I thought it was better all of you knew the truth before he shows up here." He explained.

"How did Caroline become a vampire?" Margaret asked.

"Vampire blood has healing properties and I'm sure you all remember she was in a car accident on founder's day?" He asked and they nodded. "I overheard the doctors talking and they said she wasn't going to survive the accident so I fed her some of my blood to heal her and it worked. She healed and she was going to be fine. To turn into a vampire you have to die with vampire blood in your system. That night this psycho vampire that was lurking around at the time killed her while my blood was in her system and she turned." Damon explained. Damon wasn't going to get into the whole Katherine saga so he was fudging the edges just a little.

"What do you mean by healing properties?" Kenneth asked. Kenneth was sitting next to Daniel who was next to Damon.

"Can I show you?" Damon asked them and they looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Carol asked.

"Daniel has a bleeding cut on his hand. I can show you." Damon said with a shrug and they all looked surprised as Daniel's hand was in his pocket.

"Can you... smell that?" Daniel asked and Damon smirked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"It doesn't bother you?" He asked confused and Damon chuckled.

"No." He replied.

"Alright." Daniel agreed then took his hand out of his pocket and they saw he had a large bandage across his hand. "It's a big cut." He said to Damon who chuckled.

"I'm not going to eat you, dude." Damon said and Ric chuckled because he couldn't help it.

"Okay, so..." He trailed off.

"Take the bandage off." Damon instructed and Daniel gave him a sceptical look then peeled back the bandage to reveal a large bleeding gash across his hand. They were all looking at Damon who just looked highly amused considering it was obvious Kenneth, Daniel and Margaret were expecting him to pounce. "Hold out your hand." Damon said and Daniel did hold it over to Damon. Damon's face changed and he pierced his finger on his fang then changed his face back immediately. He let one drop of his blood fall onto the gash. "Alright, just watch." Damon said and they watched his hand. Their jaws dropped when it started to heal before their eyes and seconds later the gash was _gone_.

"Oh my God." Kenneth said stunned.

"That's incredible." Margaret said shocked.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore." Daniel said confused.

"Well, it's healed, so why would it hurt?" Damon asked.

"Thanks." Daniel said surprised and Damon chuckled.

"So you see what I mean about the healing properties." He said and they nodded.


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

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><p>Take a Ride With Me<p>

Chapter 11

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><p>"So the sight and smell of blood doesn't bother you at all?" Kenneth asked confused. He was thinking over that the journals had it all wrong.<p>

"Doesn't faze me at all." Damon admitted.

"How?" Margaret asked and Damon shrugged.

"The only comparison I can make is going to sound terrible but... blood is just blood. It's like... not that it's the same thing, okay? But like if you had a plate in front of you with a sandwich on it, it's just a sandwich. You wouldn't feel the need to like attack it." He said. "Blood to me is like that sandwich to you. It's not a big deal. Not that I'm saying human blood is like a sandwich... do you get what I'm at least trying to get across?" He asked sceptically and they all chuckled a little which surprised him.

"Yes." Ric replied amused.

"Where do you get your blood then?" Margaret asked.

"I _may_ be a little thief at the blood banks in West Virginia occasionally." He smirked and they chuckled. "But I send them an anonymous donation every once in a while so I'm not _completely_ stealing, it's just you can't buy blood." He explained. "And I figured that was better than going after humans." He said.

"Wait – what happened with Logan? Do you know?" Kenneth asked and Damon nodded.

"What dance was it?" Damon asked himself. "Do you remember the vampire that got staked at the fifties decade dance?" He asked them and they nodded. "He turned Logan so he could get access to the council information." Damon said. He knew it was either him or Anna who slipped Logan blood but he figured he was a better candidate considering the council knew he was dead and he didn't want them to know that he was the one who actually killed Logan.

"But why was Logan killing then?" Kenneth asked.

"Logan had no idea who turned him. I only found out later from that vampire who got staked. Logan woke up off the highway and had no control over himself and he flipped the switch immediately. I'm guessing he did that because he was brought up his whole life to hate vampires so he obviously couldn't deal with the fact he became one." Damon said and they nodded.

"You staked him though, didn't you?" Daniel asked and Damon shook his head.

"No, it wasn't me." Damon replied. He knew it was Ric but he didn't want to put Ric in the hot seat.

"I did." Ric said surprising all of them but at least Damon knew his answer then. "He attacked me so I staked him." Ric said.

"So you knew about Damon being a vampire?" Margaret asked and he nodded.

"We hunt vampires together." Damon said.

"Damon?" Kenneth asked and Damon looked at him. "Bill can't be the only reason you're telling us all of this." He said softly and Damon sighed.

"I'm kind of sick of hiding it from you, to be honest. So I talked it over with Caroline and I told her that I was going to tell you all today and she asked me to tell you about her too so that you were told instead of finding out from someone else. We both want to stay here. I want to keep being a part of the council and I want to make sure that there aren't vampires running amuck here. But." He said. "I'm never going to try and make myself out to be something that I'm not. I _am _a vampire. I wanted all of you to know the truth. I'll answer any questions you have honestly. I am not a threat to this town and neither is Caroline. But, if you want us to go, we'll go. That's another reason I'm telling you. I don't want to stay and feel like I'm looking over my shoulder. If you can't accept this, I'll go without a fight and never come back. I am not killing people. I am not hurting people. Neither is Caroline. So it's up to you. If you're okay with us staying and just getting on with our lives here while making sure we take out threats, that's fine. If you'd rather there weren't any vampires here, we can go." He said.

"Are there other vampires here?" Margaret asked softly and he nodded.

"Carol?" Damon asked her and she bit her lip. The others looked at her confused.

"You have no right, Damon." Carol said to him annoyed.

"Don't you think it's about time we cut the crap?" Damon asked her. "They might as well know everything." He said.

"Fine, you tell them then." She said to him angrily.

"Tell us what?" Kenneth asked.

"There's a curse that runs through the Lockwood family line." Damon said and they all looked surprised. "There are mentions of it in the founder's journals." Damon said. "Tyler is a werewolf." Damon said and all of their jaws dropped. "Well, he was a werewolf. Now he's a werewolf vampire." He said and they all looked stunned. "A hybrid."

"Oh my god." Margaret said shocked. "Do you mean he _actually _becomes a wolf?" She asked in disbelief and Damon nodded.

"Have you seen that?" Kenneth asked Carol who nodded reluctantly.

"But he doesn't change into a wolf at all anymore now that he's a hybrid." Carol said.

"Is he a threat?" Daniel asked confused. Carol was surprised that Damon answered.

"No. Werewolves and vampires have a natural dislike for each other so it's not like I talk to the guy if I can avoid it but I do a weekly full scan of the area for bodies and I haven't found any in months so he's not killing people anywhere in a fifty mile radius of Mystic Falls." Surprising all of them.

"You do a weekly scan?" Ric asked him surprised and Damon nodded.

"Really?" Liz asked.

"Yes. Really." Damon replied.

"Fifty mile radius?" Margaret asked surprised.

"Yes. I _am _serious about not wanting people being killed here." He said. They all realised then that Damon was doing the council a serious favour and none of them had even known about it. Damon knew that Tyler _had _been killing people at first but he also noticed that there were no bodies recently so he figured Tyler had either stopped or he was travelling out further to do it.

"What do you want to do about Bill then?" Kenneth asked and Damon shrugged.

"Nothing." Damon replied. "I don't actually want any trouble with him but I'm guessing he has at least _something _up his sleeve if he's coming back here." He shrugged.

"Does he know that you're together with Caroline?" Daniel asked.

"No, Caroline hasn't spoken to him since the last time he was here. He didn't want anything to do with her so he doesn't know." Damon replied. "Though, I don't see that going down well." He sighed.

"Well, I have to say, after everything you've said and the fact you're being honest with us... I have no issue with you and Caroline staying here." Margaret said sincerely and Damon smiled at her.

"I have no issue either." Daniel agreed as he glanced at his healed hand in disbelief.

"You're looking out for the town and that's what I care about." Kenneth agreed. "Liz?" He asked.

"Caroline's my daughter. I'd never want her to leave. And... Damon's my friend." She said and they nodded. Damon gave her an appreciative smile for that. "I have to be honest... I did know." Liz said and they looked surprised. "I didn't tell you because she's my daughter." Liz said.

"It's understandable, Liz. We were all raised the same way." Kenneth said to her and she nodded.

"I've just realised something. You've been supplying us all with vervain." Margaret said and Damon nodded.

"I have a room full of the stuff growing in the boarding house." Damon agreed.

"But why?" Margaret asked.

"Ric makes vervain darts out of it. It's a really simple way to incapacitate a vampire." He shrugged.

"No, I mean why are you giving it to _us_?" She asked.

"For your protection." He shrugged. "Just because Caroline and I wouldn't try to compel you or feed on you doesn't mean a random vampire passing through wouldn't." He replied.

"It stops the mind control but does it actually hurt you?" Margaret asked confused and he nodded.

"It burns the skin or if it's injected it weakens us and sometimes even makes us pass out if it's a high amount. Though Caroline and I drink it." He said and they all looked confused and shocked.

"Why?" Kenneth asked.

"Because there are very old vampires that can compel younger vampires so we drink a little every day so that we can't be compelled by them." Damon explained. "Don't get me wrong, it hurts like a bitch, but better that than we have our free will taken away." He said. "You should all be drinking it." He said.

"Why? I thought we could just wear it." Carol said.

"You _can _just wear it. That stops compulsion. But if you drink it, if a vampire ever bites you, they'll pass out before they can kill you." He said surprising all of them. Ric was internally shocked that Damon was being so open about everything. All of them understood that he really was serious considering they didn't think a vampire would open up about something that could hurt him if he wasn't serious about protecting the town.

"Is that why you told me to start spiking the Grill coffee with it?" Liz asked him surprised and that shocked all of them that it had been _Damon's _idea.

"Yes. Because for a while there were a lot of random vampires running around and I was trying to find them and take them out so it makes it safer if as many people as possible have vervain in their systems. That way if I miss one or don't know about one, if they feed on someone they'll pass out then I can go stake them." Damon shrugged.

"But doesn't that also mean you can't compel a human to forget they were bitten?" Margaret asked and Damon nodded.

"Better that than they die." Damon replied. It was obvious that those who hadn't known before were becoming more and more comfortable with Damon the more they talked. There was a beep then. Liz pulled it out of her pocket.

"I need to get back to work." Liz said to them.

"Go ahead, Liz. I'll fill you in on anything you miss." Damon said to her and she nodded then said bye to all of them.

"Can you ask Caroline to come down?" Margaret asked after Liz was gone surprising Damon.

"Why?" He asked confused.

"I've known her since she was a baby. I just... want to ask her if she's okay." Margaret asked and Damon chuckled.

"She'd probably like being able to talk to you all about it anyway. One of her friends found out and he was horrible to her about it and called her a monster for no reason when she'd never done anything to deserve that so she'd probably like that you're all being supportive." He said.

"Who called her a monster?" Ric asked annoyed. The others could see that Ric clearly thought even the thought of Caroline being a monster was preposterous.

"Matt." Damon replied and they all looked surprised.

"That was so out of line." Ric said and Damon nodded. He got his phone out and sent a quick text to her. She replied seconds later.

"She'll be here in a minute." Damon said.

"A minute?" Margaret asked surprised and Damon chuckled.

"We can run _really _fast." Damon smirked at her.

"How fast?" Daniel asked fascinated and Damon chuckled.

"You want a demonstration?" He asked amused and they nodded. In a blink he was at the other side of the room. "Over here." He said and they all snapped their heads to look at him stunned then in another blink he was back in his seat with a smirk.

"I didn't even see you move." Kenneth said stunned.

"I can't go at that speed for _that _long, to be honest." Damon admitted.

"Does the same thing go for strength? Is that heightened too?" Daniel asked.

"Yes." Damon nodded.

"By a lot?" Daniel asked.

"I can lift a car over my head." Damon replied shocking all of them, even Ric, he hadn't known that. "So you understand that's another reason I take out dangerous vampires." He said and they nodded. Seconds later there was a knock at the door and they were all surprised as they hadn't heard footsteps. "It's Caroline. Come in." Damon said and the door opened and she poked her head in. Damon nodded his head to her to come sit next to him in the free seat between him and Margaret. She came in and closed the door behind her then walked over and sat next to Damon and he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Hi, everyone." She smiled and they all greeted her back. "Did you tell them?" She asked Damon who nodded. "Why were you bleeding?" She asked him confused and all of their jaws dropped.

"How did you know that? It was like a drop." Margaret said.

"I can smell it." Caroline replied hesitantly. It was obvious that she was kind of uncomfortable with talking about being a vampire.

"So that means you can smell my blood too." Daniel said and she nodded. "So you aren't affected by blood either? Even though you've only been a vampire for like a year?" He asked.

"As long as I stay fed, I don't get affected. If I haven't fed in a while then sometimes my face changes against my will but I don't ever lose control or anything." She admitted.

"Damon told us about Bill. Are you okay sweetheart?" Margaret asked her and took her hand. Damon smiled a little at that knowing Caroline would appreciate that Margaret wasn't recoiling from her. Caroline gave her hand a soft squeeze of thanks.

"It's hard to think about that considering... he's supposed to be my dad." She said softly. "But I'm dealing with it. I'm really worried about him coming back though." She said biting her lip. They all saw that she was afraid of him and it honestly pissed them off because she was _obviously _just as sweet as she'd always been.

"You know I won't let him hurt you again." Damon said to her and she nodded.

"I honestly want to sock him." Margaret said to her and Caroline let out a little surprised giggle.

"Thanks for saying that Aunt Maggie." She smiled. Damon noticed that Carol looked _really _guilty considering she was how Bill got her. "So you don't... you're not..." Caroline gulped. "You're not afraid of me?" Caroline asked her in a tiny voice and Damon saw that they all looked kind of heartbroken at that. Margaret then hugged her.

"No, sweetie. I'm not afraid of you." She said and Caroline hugged her back. "Not at all." She said. Damon was starting to think he should have just sent Caroline in to tell them about vampires considering they all loved her already and they saw that she wasn't remotely a monster.

"Thank you." Caroline replied softly and Damon saw that Ric, Kenneth and Daniel were giving her sad looks that showed how much they thought she wasn't _remotely _a monster. She pulled away and Damon saw that Margaret looked a little watery.

"I kind of want to sock Matt too." Margaret said and Damon chuckled.

"Totally." Damon smirked. Caroline gave him a confused look.

"What did you say about Matt?" She asked him.

"I just told them about his reaction to finding out about you." Damon shrugged.

"Oh." Caroline said sadly and Damon noticed they kind of all looked like they wanted to sock Matt for making her feel bad. "Well, at least he doesn't flinch when he sees me anymore." She said optimistically and all of their jaws dropped.

"He used to flinch?" Ric asked shocked.

"He also went after her with a shot gun." Damon said and they all looked stunned.

"Damon." Caroline said in disbelief.

"Well, he _did_." Damon said dryly.

"Well... Vampires are supposed to be evil... it's not like he knew differently." She said.

"You're defending him?" Kenneth asked in disbelief.

"Told you. Still a sweetheart." Damon rolled his eyes and they chuckled a little.

* * *

><p>They sat talking for a short while and it was obvious that Caroline was setting them completely at ease. They'd been fine with Damon but Caroline just made them so much more so. They were all very interested in asking questions and Damon didn't lie about <em>anything<em>. He fudged a little considering he thought it would be counterproductive to tell the council just how much trouble he caused at first considering he wasn't like that anymore. About half an hour later, the door swung open and in walked Bill Forbes. Damon was glad that he'd picked that day to out himself considering it would have been difficult to fix the damage Bill was no doubt about to try and cause. Bill was visibly surprised to see Caroline there. They all saw Caroline stiffen and her eyes widened a little in fear. That kind of infuriated all of them.

"Caroline? What are you doing here?" He asked her but she didn't reply.

"Better question is what are _you _doing here?" Damon asked him.

"I'm full of vervain this time." Bill said to him with a dark smirk and Damon chuckled.

"That supposed to scare me?" Damon asked him amused.

"I can easily talk, you know." Bill said smugly.

"About what? About me being a vampire?" Damon asked and Bill's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "About you torturing Caroline with sunlight and vervain? About me taking a chunk out of your neck?" Damon asked. "I told them already." Damon said.

"What?" Bill asked in disbelief.

"How could you do that to Caroline?" Margaret asked him disgusted. "She's your daughter. How heartless can you be?" She asked him.

"What the hell have you done to them?" Bill asked Damon angrily.

"Well, _Bill_. They're all full of vervain so I haven't _done _anything." Damon said. "I just told them the truth."

"So none of you care that he bit me." Bill said to them in disbelief.

"You're lucky I don't shoot you." Margaret said annoyed and he looked stunned.

"What did Caroline ever do to you?" Daniel asked him annoyed.

"With the right training, Caroline could stop drinking blood. That's all I was doing." Bill said annoyed.

"How is she going to stop drinking blood, you idiot?" Kenneth asked him. "That's her food. You can't _train _someone to stop eating their food." He said to him like he was stupid. Damon and Caroline were internally surprised at them being so _fine _with it. Caroline was so touched that they were sticking up for her.

"Yes, you can." Bill said.

"And how is she supposed to survive without food?" Margaret asked him cocking an eyebrow.

"Dad... you don't need to fix me." Caroline said in a small voice. The others _all_ kind of wanted to shoot Bill in all honesty. "I don't hurt anyone." She said.

"You're still... _that_." Bill said and all of them saw Damon's expression darken to one of fury. The council were well aware of how much Damon _adored _Caroline and had been for ages. They saw he'd been trying to keep his cool but they were all furious at Bill so they could imagine Damon was a hundred times more so.

"_That_?" Damon asked angrily. "You should really leave." He said.

"Why's that?" Bill asked annoyed.

"Because there's only so much patience I have with you." Damon said.

"Oh, really?" Bill sneered. "You'd take a bite and pass out." He said and Damon shrugged.

"You think that's the only way? Snapping your neck works for me too." Damon said and Bill looked shocked.

"You wouldn't." Bill tested.

"Leave. Caroline. Alone." Damon glared at him. "You can threaten me all you want. Go after her and I will _kill _you." Damon warned. Honestly, the others weren't surprised. _They _kind of wanted to kill Bill for hurting her so they could understand the guy who loved her more than anything having that reaction.

"You do know you just said that in front of the whole council." Bill said and Damon nodded.

"It would be worth having to leave just to know that Caroline doesn't have to fear you anymore." Damon said.

"Damon." Caroline said putting a hand on his shoulder and they all saw him visibly soften. "Just ignore him. He doesn't know anything about us and the council know about us now so he doesn't have to matter anymore." She said to him softly and he reluctantly nodded to her. Bill stared at the two of them in confusion.

"You should go, Bill." Margaret said.

"What is that about?" Bill asked Caroline motioning to the hand she had on Damon's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked confused.

"What I mean is the last time I saw the two of you together you were fighting." Bill said annoyed.

"Fighting?" Kenneth asked surprised. He'd never seen them be anything other than totally sapped out with each other.

"Caroline caught me biting Bill and she defended her father and kicked my ass." Damon smirked and they all looked surprised. "Then after that, he basically called her a monster and left town." He said.

"You really are a horrible father." Daniel said to Bill disgusted.

"Why? Because I don't want my only child to be a blood sucking demon?" He asked angrily.

"Are you suicidal?" Damon asked him in disbelief.

"Damon." Caroline said softly. "Just ignore him." She said and he sighed.

"He's making it difficult." Damon muttered to her and she smiled. The others were highly amused at Damon being so whipped by his girl.

"What the hell is going on?" Bill glared at their interaction.

"What's going on is that Damon and I have been together for almost six months. Not that it's your business." Caroline said and Bill's jaw dropped.

"What?" He asked shocked and disgusted. "Are you fucking kidding?" He exclaimed.

"You left my mom for a _guy_ so keep your opinions about who I date to yourself." Caroline said to him annoyed and everyone tried not to laugh at that. Bill just glared at her. The others realised then that while Caroline was afraid of her father, her instincts to protect Damon took priority over her fear.

"Does Liz know about this?" Bill seethed.

"Yes." Caroline nodded.

"Everyone in town knows about it." Kenneth added.

"How could you not tell me that?" Bill asked Carol and everyone looked surprised.

"Ooh, have you been filling daddy Forbes in?" Damon asked her amused. Everyone was staring at Carol for an explanation and she looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. "Just on us or did you tell him all about your _half _blood sucking demon son too?" Damon asked her and Bill looked highly confused.

"What? Tyler is a vampire?" Bill asked and Damon laughed.

"Oh, so you were fine with attacking Caroline with vervain, handing her over to daddy torturer but you don't want Bill to know about Tyler?" Damon asked her and everyone stared at Carol in shock.

"I didn't know about Tyler then!" Carol exclaimed.

"You handed her over to Bill?" Margaret asked in disbelief.

"You know what, Carol?" Damon asked her cocking his head to the side. Everyone saw that Damon had _had it _with Carol. "I'm not going to protect Tyler for you anymore." He said and her eyes widened. "The next time I find a four fang mark body, Tyler goes on the 'dangerous vampire to be staked' list." He said and Caroline and Carol gaped at him.

"What do you mean _next time_?" Kenneth asked Damon confused.

"Because Tyler is a hybrid, he has four top set fangs instead of two. A few months ago, I found a body pile up with the four fang marks." Damon replied and they all looked shocked.

"What?" Carol asked in disbelief.

"Ask him. _Or _better yet, I can show you where I buried them and you'll see the four fang marks. Measure the bites. Measure his mouth. I don't care. His scent was all over them." Damon said.

"Why did you bury them?" Daniel asked Damon confused.

"Because at the time, he was dating an Original vampire. Rebekah. She's one of those vampires who can compel regular vampires. So if I'd told you all or killed him, she could have killed the whole town and I wouldn't have been able to stop her because she's over a thousand years old." Damon replied and they all looked stunned. "Thankfully, she's dead now." He said and they all looked surprised.

"She is? Does Tyler know that?" Carol asked confused.

"How the hell would I know? It's not like I talk to the guy." Damon said annoyed.

"There's a lot more goes on in this town than we know about, huh?" Daniel asked.

"Not at the moment but there was." Caroline replied.

"Can you tell us?" Kenneth asked.

"Are you seriously listening to all of this crap?" Bill asked annoyed.

"Bill, you're not part of the council. You should go." Margaret glared at him.

"Neither is Caroline." Bill said annoyed.

"Yeah, but we like _her_." Margaret said to him dryly and Damon chuckled.

"Burn, dude." Damon smirked at him.

"You can't be with my daughter." Bill glared at Damon.

"That's none of your business and you get no say in it." Caroline said to him.

"You'll regret it if you don't end things with her." Bill warned Damon who smirked.

"It's never going to happen, Bill, so you can just run along." Damon said amused.

"Caroline, I'll never speak to you again." Bill warned her and Caroline stared at him. Everyone else was glaring at Bill. Internally, Damon was really worried she'd choose her father.

"Then don't ever speak to me again." Caroline said and Bill's jaw dropped while Damon's stomach fluttered. The council wasn't surprised at her choice. They kind of figured that Damon and Caroline were one of those 'will be together for all of eternity' couples.

"You'd choose _him _over me?" Bill asked her in disbelief.

"Every time." Caroline said honestly and he looked shocked then turned on his heel and stormed out of the room and banged the door closed behind him and Caroline sighed.

"Are you alright?" Damon asked her concerned and she nodded.

"He was really out of line, sweetheart." Margaret said to her.

"Thanks." Caroline said to her softly.

"So you want to know what else has been going on in this town?" Damon asked and they nodded.

* * *

><p>"That sounds like it went well." Bonnie commented after Damon and Caroline told her all about it. "Apart from Caroline's dad, obviously." She said.<p>

"I really want to kill that idiot." Damon muttered as he gulped his drink. "He's going to do something." He said annoyed.

"Who do you want to kill?" Stefan asked amused as he sauntered into the boarding house living room.

"Nobody." Damon muttered.

"How did your little outing to the council go?" Stefan asked and Damon glared at Caroline.

"You told him?" Damon asked her annoyed. "Oh for God's sake." He said in disbelief.

"What's the big deal?" Caroline asked confused.

"He's Ripper Stefan! That's the big deal." Damon said angrily. "Stefan, for once, can you just _not _be a dick about this. They know about you too." He said and Stefan shrugged.

"Like I care what they know." Stefan rolled his eyes.

"Perfect." Damon shook his head in annoyance.

"Can I have a word with you please?" Caroline asked Stefan annoyed.

"For what, Yappy?" Stefan asked. Caroline stood up and grabbed his arm and yanked him outside the house with her roughly.

"Yappy?" Bonnie asked Damon confused.

"It's what he calls her." Damon shrugged with a scowl. "I can't believe she told him that. He's going to end up killing people just to annoy me." He muttered.

"Have you told Caroline about what we talked about in D.C.?" Bonnie asked.

"We talked about a lot of things in D.C." Damon pointed out and she rolled her eyes.

"The _decision_?" She asked and Damon clicked.

"Oh. No, I haven't." He shook his head. "Why?"

"She just hasn't said anything about it and I thought she would if she knew but I guess she doesn't." Bonnie replied.

"I figured you'd want to finish the school year before doing it and she'd bug you to do it quicker." Damon replied and Bonnie giggled.

"Fair enough." Bonnie said amused.


End file.
